PORT ANGELES — The defending NWAC champion Peninsula women got a hat trick from Sydney Warren, shut out the Tacoma Titans with only one shot on goal and generally clicked on all cylinders in a 9-0 win Tuesday in their first home match of the year.
The women (3-0) picked up right where they left off last season. They started strong, scoring two goals within the first five minutes. They also did well on set pieces, scoring three goals on corner kicks.
The Titans came into Tuesday’s nonconference match with a record of 1-1, having given up just one goal in their first two matches.
Coach Kanyon Anderson said it was the women’s most complete game of the year and their first game with two solid halves.
“Our defense was organized. It was our first shutout of the year. That was what impressed me the most,” Anderson said. “They played hard with no major letdowns.”
Though the Pirates won both their games at the NWAC Friendlies Tournament, Anderson felt the team didn’t put together two good halves in either of those wins.
“It was the first 90 minutes we put together. We had two good halves and two not good [before],” he said. Anderson also liked how the team showed its depth with little dropoff between the starters and the substitutes.
Warren, coming off a nice freshman year in which she scored 12 goals, already has five goals just three games into the season (she is now leading the NWAC in goals). Anderson said her 17 goals is already fifth all-time in Pirates’ women history with the entire 2017 season in front of Warren to build on that number
Warren picked up her hat trick in unusual fashion, scoring her final goal by cleverly stealing a pass from a Titans’ defender back to the goalkeeper, then booting the ball in.
She said she came into this season with the goal of trying to score 20 goals. Warren said the Pirates did a good job of keeping possession all game long.
The Titans ended up with just four shots, with only three of those shots on goal. Meanwhile, the Pirates peppered the Titans with 25 shots, including 17 on goal.
In addition to Warren’s hat trick, Washington State transfer Jordyn DiCintio had three assists and Janis Martinez-Ortiz had two assists on corner kicks while adding a goal. Maddy Parton had two assists and two goals, while Sam Guzman, Jayna Morikawa and Shantel Torres-Benito all had goals.
DiCintio has four assists on the season, tops in the NWAC. Goaltender Akari Hoshino, one of the key players on last year’s championship team, had her first shutout of the season.
The women get a week off, playing at Pierce College on Tuesday, then begin NWAC North Division play Sept. 9 at Shoreline.
