TUKWILA — The Peninsula College women’s soccer team, with three of its best players out all of most of the game with injuries, dug deep and held on in the second half for a 1-0 win over Bellevue to win another Northwest Athletic Conference championship.
The Pirates got the lone goal of the match from a freshman, Rilee Leigh, and it was a beauty. She took a pass from Emma Crystal and kicked a long shot from 35 yards out high and to the far corner. It was much too high for Bellevue’s 5-foot-4 goalkeeper and tucked in just below the crossbar.
It was enough to hold up as the Pirates clamped down on defense. Bellevue had just five shots all game and only two on goal.
The Pirates came in to the game without Anna Petty, one of the team’s leading goal-scorers last year and an all-North Region player this year.
Disaster struck when in the 17th minute, their leading goal-scorer this year and North Region MVP Shawna Larson went out with an injury and could not return.
Then early in the second half, they lost another big scorer in Lauren Lases, who was also injured and had to be carried off the field. Those two players combined for 20 goals this season.
The defense did its job, barely allowing any serious threats from Bellevue.
To win the title, Peninsula had to beat Bellevue three times this season. Peninsula never allowed a goal to the Bulldogs, beating them 4-0, 1-0 and 1-0.
Leigh, who didn’t start the game, had just three goals this season, with one in the finals and the other in the semifinals Friday in a 3-0 victory over Spokane.
The win caps off a perfect season for the Pirates (15-0-0) as they finished with no ties and no losses. Peninsula, ranked No. 1 in the NWAC all season and a top-ranked team nationally, had 12 shutouts and outscored its opponents 74-4 this season. The Pirates did not allow a goal in the postseason.
It was Peninsula’s first championship since 2021 and the Pirates’ sixth title since 2012. They also won in 2012. 2013, 2016, 2018, all with Kanyon Anderson as the head coach.
The Peninsula men also played Clark in the NWAC championship, with the result after press deadline.
