TUKWILA — It’s one thing to win a championship. It’s quite another to do it two years in a row.
But to defend that title without losing a single match? Well, in terms of NWAACC men’s soccer, it’s unheard of.
For the Peninsula College men, that dream is just two wins from becoming a reality as it prepares for the Final Four this weekend at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila.
Everyone at practice Wednesday afternoon at Sigmar Field was certainly well aware of it.
After all, it’s a goal they’ve had in their cross hairs ever since they won the program’s first NWAACC crown last fall.
“Coming into the season I thought it could happen because of all the sophomores returning,” said defender Dustin Walsh of Port Angeles, one of 15 sophomores on the Pirates roster and lone North Olympic Peninsula native.
“We really worked hard in the offseason last year so we could do this this year.
“It became a reality, and now it’s come down to two games and we’re ready to finish it off.
“It’s been amazing.”
Only two schools have ever repeated as champions in the 37-year history of the NWAACC men’s soccer tournament.
The Skagit Valley Cardinals have done it four times (1977-80, 82-83) and Bellevue Bulldogs three times (75-76, 94-95 and 2001-02), but neither ever did so without losing a match.
That’s with good reason.
Champions always spend the next season walking around with a giant target on its back.
There’s no sneaking up on anyone, no coming in under the radar.
Instead, opponents come in with a little extra motivation.
“You can see it in the teams that come here,” Peninsula women’s soccer coach Kanyon Anderson said earlier this season. “They think they are going to be the ones who are going to beat Peninsula College.”
Of course, that has yet to happen to the Pirates (18-0-2 overall) this fall.
And the top-ranked men have managed to do that in large part because of a commitment made days after winning last year’s title, Peninsula men’s coach Andrew Chapman said.
The 2010 roster was loaded with a boatload of freshmen, and nearly every one of them had the same message for Chapman following the tournament run: We’re coming back for one more.
“They bought in on it,” said Chapman, 94-62-30 in nine seasons at Peninsula.
“They wanted to do it, so they did all the hard stuff in the offseason to make it happen.”
Team members were out on the field or in the weight room five or six times a week during the offseason.
If it snowed, they played inside the Peninsula gym. If it was sunny or wet, they were out on the school’s brand-new artificial turf field.
Once the season rolled around, it became obvious the Pirates had something special.
Sophomore striker Miguel Gonzalez of Yelm broke the school’s all-time scoring record four matches into the schedule.
He now has 49 in two seasons.
Goalkeeper Jared Wilson set the all-time shutout record midway through the year and has 18 entering this weekend’s matches.
And most importantly, the Pirates ripped off 15 straight wins before finally settling for a tie.
“They are all very confident in themselves. They don’t second guess themselves,” Chapman said.
“They know that they are good, they know that they are strong, they know they are physical, they know they are fast and they know they can score.
“They are just doing it, they are being great.”
Just two NWAACC teams have ever gone undefeated since 1974, both coming from Skagit Valley.
Nine other teams have come into the playoffs without a loss only to fall short.
One of the unbeatens happens to be the 1977 team (13-0-3) that Peninsula College President Tom Keegan played for.
The other is the 1988 Cardinals (15-0-3).
Coincidentally, Keegan will move on to serve as president of Skagit Valley next year.
“We hoped for that [to go undefeated], that was part of our goal,” said Wilson. “We thought we could.
“We basically have the same team as last year, so we pretty much had a year to get better, closer together and just know each other better.
“Even the freshmen that we picked up, they came into the team really well.”
Among those freshmen who have made an impact are Dean Gaynor (14 goals, 14 assists) of Ireland, Sean Prizeman (eight goals, two assists) of Ireland, Daniel Gonzalez (four goals, 15 assists) of Yelm and Sergio Oliveira (six goals, one assist) of Brazil.
All told, they’ve outscored opponents 75-12 behind the most prolific offense in the NWAACC and a brick wall defense led by sophomores Walsh (one goal, six assists), Yan Gioseffi and Jeff Mullen.
Wilson, of course, is a key part of that as well in front of the net.
He was selected last year’s NWAACC tournament MVP after leading the Pirates to a shootout victory over the Highline Thunderbirds in the final.
Peninsula may have to face its North Division rivals again in the finals.
Highline (14-1-3) and fellow North Division foe Olympic (8-7-5) face off in the opposite semifinal at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, while the Pirates take on Chemeketa (15-2-3) at 6 p.m.
The championship match is set for 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The Pirates all know what is on the line.
“I think it would be kind of a disappointment if we didn’t win because we’ve worked so hard all season long and we haven’t really accomplished much besides a record,” Walsh said.
“The season wouldn’t be the same if we didn’t win.
“We need a championship to show what we did.”
