PORT ANGELES — The defending NWAC champion Peninsula College women lost a lot on both offense and defense, but as always, the Pirates have an influx of new and returning players to compete for another title.
Like the Peninsula men last year, the women will be going for back-to-back titles. The Pirates have won six NWAC championships since 2012, but have not gone back-to-back since 2013.
Coach Kanyon Anderson said the expectation going into this season is another NWAC title. And the conference’s coaches agree, naming Peninsula the No. 1-ranked team in their preseason poll.
“One thing we always focus on is not to compare ourselves to last year,” Anderson said. “That can be exhausting. This year, we’ll have different strengths and weaknesses.”
The Pirates lost leading goal-scorer and NWAC Player of the Year Shawna Larson, who now plays for Sacramento State. She had 13 goals and 35 points for the Pirates last year after scoring 18 goals and 44 points in her freshman year.
Anderson believes that just as hard to replace are Gemma Rowland and Evee Stoddard, who were stout in the defensive back line for the Pirates and were a huge part of the reason why Peninsula only allowed four goals all year.
“We don’t win the championship if any one of those three players weren’t part of it,” Anderson said.
Anderson said that in the team’s two scrimmages against Vancouver Island University and Central Washington University, he has seen two strengths in the team already.
One is the team’s central midfield, which returns two big scorers from last year — Shiori Shintaku and Paige Johnson. Shintaku quietly had 12 goals last year, while Johnson had eight to go along with four assists. The other midfielder will be Emma Crystal.
“That’s been one area of our team that has been really strong. That’s one aspect I’ve noticed,” Anderson said. “Shiori is fantastic. She’s quiet, but an awesome player.”
Anderson also said he’s been impressed with the team’s grit and tenacity, winning both of its exhibition games by one goal against two four-year schools, one of them — Central Washington —an NCAA Div. II school.
Replacing Rowland and Stoddard on the back line will be the freshman trio of Ceydie Whitfield, Olivia Danks and Layla Bajer.
“These freshmen are being asked to step in to a major role. They’ve been very mature and calm,” Anderson said.
Anderson said goalkeeper will be a strength. Returning keeper Alexandra Naill is the presumptive starter, but Anderson said there is an incredibly close competition between the team’s three keepers — Jordan Labajo and freshman Aspen Fraser.
“Aspen is pushing hard to earn a starting spot,” Anderson said. “This is the most closely competitive goalkeeper group we’ve had in a long time. One through three is closely contested.”
Other returning players include Isis Jade Bryant, who was a medical redshirt last year, Jaiden King, Kiersten Navarro, Elise Maffeo, Serayah Gooler and others.
Two newcomers to watch will be a pair of transfers — freshman Kamalani Yamashita from Hawaii and sophomore Atianna Tauiai Fuamatu-Ma’afala, who comes from an NCAA Div. I school, San Jose State. Fuamatu-Ma’afala is other a member of the American Samoa national women’s team.
“Those two are going to do a lot of heavy lifting for us offensively,” Anderson said.
Also on the roster is a Sequim star, Jenny Gomez, who already has contributed to the team by scoring the go-ahead goal against Vancouver Island University. While Gomez was a strong midfielder at Sequim and listed as a mid, Anderson said he is still working on what Gomez’s role on the team will be.
Also remaining with the team for a year as a graduate assistant is Port Angeles’ Anna Petty. Petty had a great freshman year with 12 goals and 29 points, but her sophomore season was cut short by a serious knee injury. She used up her athletic eligibility but will be an assistant coach for this season.
The Pirates won’t get to play an NWAC game until Sept. 10 as a scheduled game Thursday against Blue Mountain was canceled. They do have two more exhibition matches, hosting Seattle Pacific at 5 p.m. Saturday and then playing the University of Victoria on Sept. 5. That game will be played in Centennial Stadium and Anderson expects there will be 3,000 people at the game, which would be the biggest crowd to ever watch the Peninsula College women play.
The Pirates jump right into North Region play with the Sept. 10 home game against Skagit Valley, which has Port Angeles’ Paige Mason on the roster. Skagit Valley finished ninth in the coaches’ poll. The North Region’s Bellevue is considered a strong contender for an NWAC title as it finished second to Peninsula in the NWAC poll. Peninsula plays at Bellevue on Oct. 1 and hosts Bellevue in the final regular-season game of the year Oct. 29.
