COLLEGE SOCCER: Peninsula men win finale, prepare to defend title
PORT ANGELES – The Peninsula College men’s soccer team ended their undefeated regular season with a 4-1 win over Everett on Saturday.
During the regular season, the No. 1 men defeated Tacoma in a rematch of the 2019 championship game, beating Whatcom, the NWAC’s No. 2 team.
Now the pirates have to defend an NWAC title. The men (12-0-1 northern region, 15-0-1 overall) won the title in the northern region and the top seeders in the north with a 0-0 draw in a rematch with Whatcom last week.
Everett’s Diego Peixoto (left) and Peninsula’s Tim Deser vie for the ball in Port Angeles on Saturday. (Keith Thorpe / Peninsula Daily News)
The Pirates will receive a bye in the opening round on Wednesday and then host a quarterfinal match at Wally Sigmar Field on Saturday. The winner of this game will travel to the NWAC Final Four at the Starfire Soccer Complex in Tukwila.
The timing of this game has not yet been announced. The men play on Wednesday against the winner of the southern region No. 2 and the western region No. 3 – Bellevue vs. Rogue.
In the win on Saturday, the men received goals from Jonathan DeMotta, Nico Hernandez, Chunghwan Lee and Dylan Pauw as well as assists from Nicholas Namwali, Tim Deser and Kai Beigler.
The men arrived shortly before their fifth shutout in a row. Everett scored in the 70th minute and shot a 460-minute goalless series.
Peninsula’s Jonathan DeMotta, right, tangles with Everett’s Liam Raney on Saturday while Peninsula’s Nicolas Hernandez keeps an eye on the ball. (Keith Thorpe / Peninsula Daily News)
women
The also undefeated Pirates women will also host a quarter-final game at Sigmar Field on Saturday. The women won by loss on Saturday as Everett was forced to suspend his women’s football program that season.
The women will also play against the Wednesday winners of South Region No. 2 and West Region No. 3 – Pierce vs. Portland.
The Pirates women have an even more impressive goalless streak ahead of the postseason. The women (14-0-1 North Region, 15-0-2 total) have played eight games, not counting Everett losses, without allowing a goal – that’s 745 straight minutes with no added time without allowing a goal.
The women are also No. 1 in NWAC and No. 3 in the nation among Division II community colleges. The Pirates men are No. 6 in the nation.
Peninsula’s Dylan Pauw, front, cuts off Everett’s Nacho Pedrosa during Saturday’s game in Port Angeles. (Keith Thorpe / Peninsula Daily News)
Peninsula’s Tim Deser (left) and Fernando Tavares try to control a loose ball while Everett’s Axel Rochel follows it in Port Angeles on Saturday. (Keith Thorpe / Peninsula Daily News)