TUKWILA — The Pirate women are just two wins away from their ultimate goal.
The Peninsula College women’s soccer team has come from the back of the pack to near the top of the 23-team, two-state NWAACC.
It’s the top or bust for the Pirates.
“From the beginning of the season we said we wanted to win the West Division, which we have, and we wanted to win the NWAACC title,” Peninsula coach Kanyon Anderson said.
The Pirates, 16-2-3 and ranked No. 3 coming into the NWAACC playoffs, took a major step toward that goal when they upset No. 2 Spokane (15-6-0) 1-0 in the quarterfinals at Sigmar Field on Saturday.
Now the only two teams of standing in the way of that ultimate goal are South Division winner Clackamas (11-5-1) and East Division champion and No. 1 Walla Walla, undefeated and the powerhouse of NWAACC at 20-0-1.
Peninsula, Clackamas, Walla Walla and North Division winner Everett (13-5-2) are the last teams standing for the NWAACC Final Four, which is set for Saturday and Sunday at Starfire Sports Complex.
Walla Walla and Everett open semifinals competition at 10:30 a.m. with the Peninsula and Clackamas following at 1 p.m.
The two winners advance to the finals Sunday at 3 p.m.
Walla Walla lurking
Second-year coach Anderson, voted the West Division coach of the year, likes the Pirates chances this weekend. Even against monster team Walla Walla.
But up first is the Clackamas Cougars.
“Clackamas likes to play a possession game and they try to keep the ball a lot,” Anderson said.
The Cougars have one player who made South-East All-Region honors and she’s a dandy.
Yasmina Coto is the team’s center-midfielder, whom the Pirates will have to keep tabs on, Anderson said.
“She is very talented,” he said.
The Pirates, though, counter with West Division MVP Jackie Rodgers, a midfielder, and North-West All-Region players forward Shelby Solomon, defenders Felicia Collins and Kimmy Jones and goalkeeper Krystal Daniels.
Rodgers was voted the MVP because “she is very tough and she is very skilled,” Anderson said.
“It is unusual for a player to be both tough and skilled, and the conference’s coaches see that in her.”
Rodgers wins a lot of balls back and she makes intelligent passes to her teammates, Anderson said.
According to scouting reports, Clackamas isn’t a big team.
“That gives us an advantage because we are big and physical,” Anderson said.
“Clackamas has good athletes and they are fast but we are big and fast, and I see that as an advantage for us.”
Another advantage for Peninsula is that the Cougars have only 16 players on their active roster compared to the Pirates’ 24 players.
“All of their starters have played a lot of minutes this year, and the word from other coaches is that they are a little banged up,” Anderson said.
The Pirates, meanwhile, are healthy with no new injuries.
Peninsula’s strength is that it’s a balanced team. That means the Pirates are strong every where on the field.
“A balanced football team has good offensive and defensive lines, good skill players and a strong defense,” Anderson said.
“We are balanced like that with a good offense and defense.
“We are hard to defend. We have a balanced approach to the game which makes us difficult to deal with.”
That’s like Walla Walla, which has scored 99 goals this year and given up only five in 21 games, earning 17 shutouts.
The Pirates have 52 goals and given up just 11 in 21 games with 11 shut outs.
Walla Walla is the elephant in the room that can’t be ignored.
“They are a great team but they are beatable,” Anderson said.
“They run a system that wears weak teams down. They are like a basketball team that runs a full-court press all-game long.
“If you can break that, they are beatable.
“We are one of the few teams that has the talent that can break their system.”
Going against Walla Walla is like a boxer going against Mike Tyson, Anderson tells his players.
“Tyson gets a lot of knockouts in the first round.
“If you can get by the first round, you have a good chance of winning.”
Another good sign is that Walla Walla tied Everett during the regular season while the Pirates beat Everett.
Also, Walla Walla has played on grass all year while the Starfire Stadium has artificial turf.
The Pirates, though, have played on turf all season at their new Sigmar Field.
But first, Peninsula has to get by Clackamas and Walla Walla has to beat Everett in the semifinals for that dream matchup in Sunday’s final.
Whatever happens this weekend, the Pirates already are playing on Cloud 9.
“It’s a dream season for us,” Anderson said.
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Sports Editor Brad LaBrie can be reached at 360-417-3525 or at brad.labrie@peninsuladailynews.com.
