Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Peninsula’s Shantel Torrres-Benito, left, tries to break up an altercation betwen teammate Taylor Graham and Edmonds goalkeeper Samantha Miller-Foy, right, after a Peninsula goal in the first half on Wednesday at Wally Sigmar Field. Miller-Foy was shown a yellow card in the incident.

Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Peninsula’s Shantel Torrres-Benito, left, tries to break up an altercation betwen teammate Taylor Graham and Edmonds goalkeeper Samantha Miller-Foy, right, after a Peninsula goal in the first half on Wednesday at Wally Sigmar Field. Miller-Foy was shown a yellow card in the incident.

WOMEN’S SOCCER: Peninsula erupts for 13 goals, drill second-place Edmonds

PORT ANGELES — Peninsula women’s soccer coach Kanyon Anderson wasn’t happy with his team’s lack of goal-scoring after a 2-0 win over Whatcom last week that he felt was much closer than it should have been.

Well, the Pirate women took his words to heed, exploding for 13 goals Wednesday against Edmonds in their best offensive showing of the year.

And it’s hard to believe, but their offensive eruption came against a team that tied the Pirates 1-1 just two weeks ago, Peninsula’s only blemish in league play.

Keep in mind, Edmonds is not one of the bottom feeders of the NWAC. This is a second-place team in the North Division that came into Wednesday’s match hoping to pull within three points of the Pirates. Now, the Tritons find themselves nine points out of first.

Shantel Torres-Benito and Taylor Graham both had spectacular matches for Peninsula, each scoring three goals and picking up an assist. Meanwhile, Samantha Oliveira had two goals and an assist for the Pirates.

The Pirates haven’t lost since early September, but a number of their matches have been close and they’ve had six matches in which they’ve scored three goals or fewer.

“I thought the commitment and energy weren’t there. You have to have a final push to score, like a good basketball player goes to the hole,” said Anderson. “We were lacking the last acceleration. Today, we had it.”

“Our energy and we were on the same page. Now we’re working together,” Torres-Benito credited to the offensive showing.

Torres-Benito said the team focused on scoring all week in their practices.

“What we were doing in practise paid off. What we were doing, we incorporated into the game,” she said.

Peninsula ended up with 31 shots to the Tritons two.

It was a chippy match with the Edmonds goalie getting into a scuffle with some Peninsula players after a Torres-Benito goal. The Tritons didn’t do themselves any favors as they were forced to play most of the match with 10 players due to an ejection.

Anderson thought the tie two weeks ago against the Tritons helped fire up the Pirates. He said Peninsula did not play well in that game. He also thought the team can still get better.

“We’re playing well, but we haven’t clicked on all cylinders yet. Today, that’s what that can look like,” he said.

Other goal scorers included Kayla Alcott, Breanne Kuni and Halle Nottage, who also had an assist. The Pirates’ Sydney Seitler scored her first career goal and she also picked up an assist.

One minor flaw in the win was the Pirates’ long scoreless streak being snapped. Tritons’ forward Kaila Wiley got behind the Pirates’ defense in the 27th minute and was able to score. That broke the Pirates’ scoreless streak at 460 minutes.

Peninsula (9-0-1 28 points, 11-2-1) plays Shoreline (0-10, 0-14-1) at noon Saturday at Sigmar Field.

________

Sports Editor Pierre LaBossiere can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or plabossiere@peninsuladailynews.com.

WOMEN’S SOCCER: Peninsula erupts for 13 goals, drill second-place Edmonds
Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Peninsula’s Cindy Vasquez, left, dribbles past Edmonds’ Jazmin Nunez in the first half on Wednesday.

Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Peninsula’s Cindy Vasquez, left, dribbles past Edmonds’ Jazmin Nunez in the first half on Wednesday.

More in Sports

KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
Port Angeles' Myles Close, right, settles a loose ball as Klahowya's Sage Bell, left, tries to get past Close's teammate Mason Spangler on Saturday in Port Angeles.
BOYS SOCCER: Klahowya’s late goals knock off PA

The Port Angeles boys soccer team got off to… Continue reading

Forks' Chloe Gaydeski beats the throw to third as the Spartans defeated Hoquiam 20-15 in this slugfest at Fred Orr Park in Beaver. Covering third is Hoquiam's Macy Dhooghe. (Lonnie Archibald/for Peninsula Daily News)
PREP SOFTBALL: Forks wins slugfest over Hoquiam behind four home runs

Port Angeles softball improves to 2-0 behind Heidi Leitz

Port Angeles Roughriders
BOYS BASEBALL: Roughriders’ pitching remains hot in win over C. Kitsap

Port Angeles has allowed one run and three hits over 12 innings

East Jefferson Rivals’ catcher Breanne Huntingford gets a walk to first base after being tagged by the ball while at bat during a game against the Bremerton Knights played at Blue Heron Middle School in Port Townsend on Wednesday. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
PREP SOFTBALL: East Jefferson shows flashes, but fall late

Rivals play tough against Olympic League foe

PREPS: Robinson starts off strong for Rider softball

Port Angeles’ Natalie Robinson homered and added two triples and… Continue reading

Anglers enjoyed a successful fishing outing out of Sekiu in 2021 with captain Tom Burlingame and Excel Fishing Charters.
OUTDOORS: Bigger halibut limit, more days to fish

Halibut season is coming up quickly in April with some positive changes… Continue reading

Sequim's Taylee Rome (13) celebrates a double as Forks' Lizzy Soto brings the ball into the infield Tuesday in Sequim. (Michael Dashiell/Olympic Peninsula Sports Group)
PREP SOFTBALL: Sequim wins opener over Forks

Wolves’ Owens goes the distance on the rubber

Port Angeles Roughriders
PREP ROUNDUP: Port Angeles’ Miller nets hat trick in soccer victory

Sophomore Matthew Miller recorded a hat trick and senior… Continue reading

Sequim Wolves.
PREP BASEBALL: Sequim strong in season-opening win over Forks

Eight Wolves batters record 13 runs on 12 hits, eight walks, four stolen bases