PORT ANGELES — The Peninsula women’s soccer team toughed it out through a physical match against Everett that sent one player to the hospital for a hard-fought, defensive 1-0 win at Sigmar Field.
Bailie Zuber had a couple of huge stops on defense to maintain the shutout while Marriah Perez scored the lone goal of the match late in the first half Saturday.
It was the seventh straight game in which the Pirates and goalkeeper Akari Hoshino have not surrendered a goal.
Coach Kanyon Anderson said he thought his team came out flat early. “But we were pretty organized defensively and limited their opportunities.”
Peninsula (8-0, 9-1-1) led Everett in shots 18-8. The Pirates remain atop the North Division of the Northwest Athletic Conference and ranked No. 2 in the NWAC coaches’ poll behind Spokane.
Anderson gave credit to Kennady Whitehead for her hard tackling and keeping the team organized on the field. Whitehead smacked heads with Everett’s Karin Heisen halfway through the second half as they both battled for a loose ball. She stayed in the game and played fine, but after the game, felt sick and had to be taken to the hospital.
Perez’s goal came at the 36th minute on a rebound during a scramble for the ball on the goal mouth. She said it felt good to beat Everett, which has been a postseason nemesis for Peninsula. Earlier this year, the Pirates beat the Trojans 4-0. This game was far tougher.
“This was a close game, way closer than the last time we played,” she said.
Ellie Small assisted on Perez’s goal.
It was a physical match, with two Everett women going down with injuries and Whitehead’s injury. “But, we battled it out,” Perez said.
Zuber came up huge with a save in the goal area, then made another block on a point-blank shot in the 66th minute. Maddy Parton also had a solid game beating a number of defenders on a solo run in the second half and nearly scoring a goal on a header in the 75th minute. Perez came close to scoring a second goal in the 87th minute when one of her shots nearly rolled in past Everett goalie Myah Rhodes.
Audrey Barham, who caused problems for the Trojans all game long with her runs up the left wing, ended up with four shots, while Hoku Afong added four shots of her own.
The Pirates’ host cellar-dwelling Skagit Valley (0-6-1, 0-7-2) at 2 p.m. Wednesday.
Men Peninsula 6, Everett 1
PORT ANGELES — The final score was slightly misleading as the men’s match was actually pretty close in the first half. The Pirate men got an early goal from Juan Carrillo but gave up a goal to the Trojans’ Zachary Gudakov.
The score remain tied 1-1 until the 41st minute when Jose Soto scored on a rebound off the crossbar. Carrillo was credited with an assist on that goal.
Holding a tight 2-1 lead at the half Saturday, the Pirates (7-0-0, 9-0-1) erupted for four goals in the second half to dominate the Trojans in the end and win their eighth straight match.
Carrillo, who had one goal and one assist, used his speed to set up a number of scoring chances all game. He said the Pirates played to their strengths in that second half, mostly the team’s ball movement.
“We moved the ball, kept the ball and played as a team, not individuals,” Carrillo said.
Coach Cale Rodriguez said it was another match for the Pirates in which they start slowly but dominate late.
“Our depth and our fitness has helped us wear teams out,” he said.
Rodriguez said that despite the win, he feels the team can improve, especially overcoming its slow starts. “I don’t think we came out with the mindset and the energy we needed. We’ve talked about getting off to a good start and having a more complete performance and making it easier on us at the end.”
In the 47th minute, the Pirates began their scoring onslaught on what was scored an own goal against the Trojans. However, pressure from Joey Hollimon helped lead to that goal.
Cesar Gervacio, coming off a five-goal effort in his previous match, got in on the scoring in the 62nd minute to make it 4-1. Just a couple of minutes later, Kevin Medina hooked in a great shot from 30 yards out, forcing Trojans’ goalie Daniel Camplejohn to make a big save.
The Pirates kept up the pressure with a goal by Hollimon in the 67th minute, assisted by Gervacio. Gervacio scored his second goal of the match and his seventh in two games on a header from a corner kick by Soto.
Gervacio ended the match with two goals and an assist.
Peninsula hosts fifth-place Skagit Valley (0-2-5, 1-4-5) at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
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Sports Editor Pierre LaBossiere can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or plabossiere@peninsuladailynews.com.
Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Everett’s Victor Ramirez, left, tries to outrace Peninsula’s Juan Carrillo during first-half play in the Pirates’ 6-1 win over the Trojans.
Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Everett’s Victor Ramirez, left, tries to outrace Peninsula’s Juan Carrillo during first-half play in the Pirates’ 6-1 win over the Trojans.
