PORT ANGELES — A powerhouse is not a forgiving place to live.
But it’s the house the Peninsula College women’s soccer team has built with success.
In six seasons of existence, Peninsula has established itself as a one of the powerhouse programs — if not the powerhouse program — in the Northwest Athletic Conference.
Since starting in 2010, the Pirates claimed two NWAC titles, and from 2011 to 2014, they played in four consecutive conference championship games.
Peninsula missed out on its fifth straight title game appearance when it lost to Highline 2-1 in the NWAC semifinals at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila on Saturday.
The Pirates finish the season ranked 20-2 — even after the semifinal loss, that’s the best record in the NWAC — and won their fifth consecutive division title.
They were ranked No. 1 in the NWAC and at No. 13 are the second-highest ranked West Coast team in the National Soccer Coaches of America junior college poll (behind Spokane, which moved up to 12th after winning the NWAC title Sunday).
The Pirates scored more goals (87) than any team in the conference. They had the most shutouts (15) and allowed the least amount of goals (8) in the NWAC.
Still, it’s hard not to wonder if the season, as a whole, was a big letdown. All because of one game. Or, more specifically, all because of a few minutes early in the second half when Highline scored both of its goals.
Peninsula head coach Kanyon Anderson understands that, but he wasn’t let down.
“We won the league in every statistical category, and still finish with the best record in the entire thing,” Peninsula head coach Kanyon Anderson said.
“So to put the whole season down to three games at the end . . .
“I tell the girls not to buy into that. It’s like what a lot of those basketball coaches say about March Madness: you can have this amazing season, [but] only one team gets to pretend that they had a good season at the end? I mean, come on.”
That doesn’t mean not winning a championship doesn’t sting.
Anderson couldn’t watch the women’s championship game — “For me, it was just too raw,” he said — and he said the Pirates feel they should have capped their season with a championship.
But the 2015 Peninsula Pirates weren’t a bust.
“The thing I keep coming back to is how much I enjoyed this season,” Anderson said.
“It was probably one of the most enjoyable groups I’ve ever been around. They were just happy; they’re good people.
“And so, it doesn’t make the season feel like a failure, even though the hard part is we know we could have won that whole thing.
“We didn’t play very well on Saturday, and that’s the frustrating part is just knowing we didn’t perform the way we should have.
“We know we could have won that thing.”
It has now been two years since the Peninsula women won the second of their back-to-back NWAC championships in 2012 and 2013.
Since then, they’ve brought home second-place and third-place trophies, which are nice but a lot smaller than what was received by those championship teams.
Only two players on this year’s team were around in 2013: goalkeeper Manaia Siania-Unutoa, who was a redshirt, and midfielder Brenda Torres, who redshirted last year.
But the burden of success remains.
“The other thing I tell the girls, you know, you’re not responsible for all the other things that the Peninsula College women’s program has done. You’re just playing for yourselves, you’re playing for your year and your opportunity,” Anderson said.
“It feels like this team, as good as this team was, and it may have been the best team I’ve had — this team is phenomenal — we’re still trying to meet the standard of the back-to-back.
“You can’t win a back-to-back championship in one year. And yet, that’s sort of what looms over us.”
The women’s team was still hanging around Starfire Sports Complex on Sunday.
Anderson coached the North-South All-Stars to a 3-2 win over the East-West All-Stars.
The Pirates who weren’t playing were cheering for their teammates from the stands — and, Anderson said, for the players from rival Everett.
Then, after the women’s title game, they returned to the stadium and became the Peninsula men’s team’s most vocal supporters during its 4-3 championship win over Spokane — dancing and chanting and swarming the field to celebrate.
“They had a great experience, and this group loved being around each other and loved playing,” Anderson said.
“They were genuinely happy for the men’s team for winning.
“I don’t think there’s anything that could get this team down. Like, their lives are good, they’re happy people, their happiness doesn’t hinge on one game.
“They’re too smart for that.”
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Sports Editor Lee Horton can be reached at 360-417-3525 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.
