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MEN’S SOCCER: Peninsula College breaks through in tussle with Tacoma

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, August 21, 2024

By Michael Carman

Rick Ross/Peninsula College Athletics Peninsula College's Nil Grau controls the ball in the goal box while looking to score during the Pirates' 3-1 win over Tacoma at the NWAC Friendlies in Tacoma.
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Rick Ross/Peninsula College Athletics Peninsula College's Nil Grau controls the ball in the goal box while looking to score during the Pirates' 3-1 win over Tacoma at the NWAC Friendlies in Tacoma.
Rick Ross/Peninsula College Athletics Peninsula College’s Nil Grau controls the ball in the goal box while looking to score during the Pirates’ 3-1 win over Tacoma at the NWAC Friendlies in Tacoma.
Rick Ross/Peninsula College Athletics Peninsula College’s Pau Vivas goes to the ground in an attempt to maintain possession of the ball while surrounded by Tacoma Titans defenders during the Pirates’ 3-1 win at the NWAC Friendlies in Tukwila.

TUKWILA — Sophomore success sustained Peninsula College as the reigning Northwest Athletic Conference men’s soccer champions opened their title defense with a 3-1 win over the Tacoma Titans at the NWAC Friendlies on Tuesday.

Neither team found the back of the net early on in the evenly played match before sophomore midfielder Konrad Mueller broke through and scored off an assist from Koya Kimura in the 40th minute.

Buoyed by the late first-half goal, Peninsula came out and scored quickly, two minutes into the second half.

Sophomore Nils Grau found the net, assisted by Issei Fujiwara, in the 47th minute for a 2-0 Peninsula advantage. Grau is the team’s returning goal-scoring leader from 2023 with eight tallies. Grau also led the team with 10 assists last season, which was good for third overall in the NWAC.

Davyd Fedina got one back for Tacoma with an unassisted goal in the 59th minute.

Peninsula’s defense held onto its one-goal advantage for about 15 minutes before freshman Ezrah Ochoa knocked in an unassisted strike to make it 3-1 in the 74th minute.

Sophomore goalkeeper Laurin Lettow faced seven shots on goal for the Pirates, stopping six. Lettow started in 12 of 16 games for Peninsula in 2023.

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