TUKWILA — Back-to-back 3-0 victories at the season-opening NWAC Friendlies tournament left Peninsula College women’s soccer coach impressed with the play of his sophomore-dominated squad.
The Pirates bounced defending NWAC-champion Columbia Basin 3-0 to open play Tuesday and were again winners by a 3-0 tally over Lane on Wednesday as sophomores Risa Nishida, Port Angeles product Anna Petty and Jaeda Mae Edayan all found the net.
“It was a great group effort defensively,” coach Kanyon Anderson said. “Anybody who came into the midfield was active and energetic. We ran seven players through our midfield, and we were so good getting to loose balls our back line didn’t have to clean up as much. So we had great pressure from our strikers and energy from our midfielders. It was good team defending from front to back.”
Anderson wasn’t sure if his team had yielded a shot against Lane.
“Lane is pretty good. It was a competitive, hard-fought game,” Anderson said. “We kept them to very, very few shots on goal, and when the stats come out, I wouldn’t be shocked if we didn’t allow a shot. To go 180 minutes and give up one shot is pretty good.”
Petty’s goal gave Peninsula a 2-0 lead at halftime.
“It was a pretty goal, a neat little ball over the top. Their goalkeeper came out, and Anna was able to lift it over her,” Anderson said.
Jordan Labajo and Kylie Janke combined in goal for the clean sheet.
“Biggest takeaway for me is we are deep and we have a lot of good players that can make an impact,” Anderson said. “It’s all about finding the right chemistry moving forward, and that’s my job to get busy looking at all of these good performances.”
Anderson said the team has been a delight to coach thus far.
“This group is really good to each other,” Anderson said. “They are a fun and energetic group, and they make it fun to go to practice every day. That kind of great vibe is vastly important over such a long season.”
Peninsula 3, Columbia Basin 0
A sophomore-laden Peninsula College women’s soccer team opened its season with a dominant 3-0 shutout of defending Northwest Athletic Conference champion Columbia Basin on Tuesday.
The Pirates peppered the Columbia Basin goal with 11 shots on goal offensively and allowed just one shot on goal while on defense in the tidy victory. Peninsula also earned six corner kicks while conceding zero and had eight fouls to two, consistent with a high-energy performance.
Peninsula opened the scoring quickly as sophomore Desiree Dutra broke through and scored on an Evee Stoddard assist for a 1-0 lead eight minutes into the contest.
Shawna Larson was next to find the net for Peninsula, with a 31st-minute goal coming on an assist by freshman Shiori Shintaku for a 2-0 lead.
Freshman Lauren Lases added the third goal unassisted in the 66th.
Peninsula goalkeeper Alexandra Naill earned the clean sheet.
Peninsula hosts Multnomah University at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Wally Sigmar Field.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at sports@peninsuladailynews.com.
Rick Ross/Peninsula College Athletics Peninsula College’s Lauren Lases heads the ball while surrounded by a host of Columbia Basin defenders and teammate Gemma Rowland during the Pirates’ 3-0 win over the Hawks at the NWAC Friendlies in Tukwila.
