PORT ANGELES — They’re tired, bruised, but couldn’t be happier.
For some of the Peninsula College women’s soccer players, Sunday was the culmination of not just one year of dedication toward a championship, but two years, with a big heartbreak to overcome.
“We’re a little beat up, but it’s OK, it’s the end of the season,” said all-North Region defensive back Gemma Rowland. “I’ve been doing lots of sleeping.”
“We’ve been partying like crazy and sleeping. I’m super tired,” said goalkeeper Alex Naill.
“It’s been a lot of go, go, go,” since the championship game, said defensive back Jaidyn King.
“We’re still so happy. Everyone on the team put so much into it,” Emma Crystal, another defensive back, said.
Crystal was forced to play the finals game sick after apparently getting food poisoning. She contributed a great assist to Rilee Leigh, who scored the only goal of the game on a powerful 30-yard, sharp-angle shot.
“I was sick all night. I was very tired in that game. I wasn’t feeling very good but I made it through,” Crystal said.
The Pirates women just completed a historic season — a perfect record, a record-breaking defense and, best of all, a championship with a 1-0 win over Bellevue on Sunday.
It won’t be the records they’ll remember, it will be the friendships they made this season.
“Everything just fell into place early. Everyone on the team loves everyone,” said defensive back Evee Stoddard, the defensive player of the year in the North Region.
“I love this team. Everyone on the team is amazing,” Stoddard said.
“They’re such good people. We definitely made lifelong friends,” Crystal said.
“Our connection was so tight. We were more like a family. It was fun to go to practice and push each other to our limits and beyond,” Naill said.
The defense was a monster part of this year’s team, allowing just four goals in 16 games and zero goals in the postseason. Stoddard and Rowland led that impenetrable defensive wall in the back, barely allowing opponents any shots in every game.
Half of those goals were in the first regular-season game against Skagit Valley. In fact, Peninsula got down 2-0 in that game and came back to win 3-2.
”Honestly, it was good for us. It helped fuel us for the rest of the season,” Stoddard said. “To get scored on and then to come back in our first regular-season game, it was validation that this team was special and we could come back.”
“They’re very good at making sure that the ball doesn’t get through to me,” said Naill.
Adversity
It wasn’t completely easy for the 16-0-0 Pirates as they did face some adversity, especially down the stretch.
First, Peninsula had to get past Spokane, which beat the Pirates two straight years in the postseason, both times in penalty kicks. That was a huge mental hurdle to get over. Stoddard, Rowland and Crystal were all part of that team last year that had an outstanding won-loss record, but lost in PKs.
“We thought last year we were the better team,” Crystal said. “We’re glad we didn’t have to do penalty kicks again.”
“Everyone’s just happy,” Rowland said. “There’s no regrets, no confusion about who the better team is. They [Spokane[ weren’t quite the wall they were last year.”
There was more adversity beyond Crystal’s illness.
Secondly, the Pirates went into the championship game without Anna Petty, an all-North midfielder, and Marlee Hamlett, who were both injured. Then, they lost their leading scorer, Shawna Larson, early in the game to an ankle injury. Early in the second half, they lost another one of their best players, Lauren Lases, to a serious knee injury.
Peninsula responded with a goal from Rilee Leigh, who came in to the postseason with one goal. She ended up scoring two in the postseason. Even Leigh had to overcome her own adversity, a broken toe.
“We have such an amazing team. The whole season has been next man up,” Stoddard said.
Naill said one of her favorite memories of this year was holding her arms out for Leigh after her goal.
“I told her, ‘come here’ and she jumped up into my arms and I spun her around,” Naill said.
Stoddard and Rowland plan to continue to play soccer at a four-year school, but haven’t selected a school yet. For now, the players will take the winter off and continue to get together for workouts. Peninsula then plays a spring schedule which includes a game against Seattle University.
For next year? Naill, a freshman, is already making plans, along with the men’s team.
“I want to see if we can go back-to-back, back-to-back,” she said.
