Peninsula Daily News
EVERETT — A Peninsula College win and a Whatcom loss on Wednesday propelled the Pirates mens soccer team to within two points of clinching their eighth straight division championship.
Peninsula who stopped Everett 5-0 under the lights at Kasch Park Wednesday evening, can claim the North Division title with a win at Skagit Valley on Saturday.
Peninsula (11-0-1, 13-0-2) leads the North with 34 points with three matches remaining. Whatcom (8-2-2, 9-3-2) trails with 26 points.
Should the Orcas win out, they would finish the season with 35.
The Northwest Athletic Conference’s top-ranked Pirates need only two points in three outings to nail down a home quarterfinal playoff on Saturday, Nov. 5.
Edmonds (5-4-3, 8-5-3) trails in third place with 18 points following a 1-0 upset over Whatcom Wednesday.
Wednesday’s match was all Peninsula from the opening kickoff, when just seconds into the match, Cesar Gervacio blasted a shot that just missed the top crossbar.
Gervacio was right back in position to score only a minute later, putting the Pirates on the scoreboard on a nice goal, assisted by Miguel Valderrama.
It was the 11th goal of the season for the freshman forward, who leads the team in scoring.
Peninsula got goals from Saul Araiza in the 21st minute, from Kevin Medina in the 59th minute, and then back-to-back goals by defender Jose Soto in the 75th and 79th minutes to put the match well out of reach.
The other assists came from Gervacio, and two from Medina.
Brannon Dwyer recorded his fourth shutout in goal.
Meanwhile, the NWAC’s No. 1 Peninsula women, who sewed up their sixth straight division title on Monday, stopped the Trojans 2-0 in the earlier match.
Women Peninsula 2, Everett 0
The Trojans are in fourth place in the women’s standings, but they always play tough against Peninsula, especially at Kasch Park. Wednesday’s match was no exception.
The two teams battled through a scoreless first half, each narrowly missing opportunities to score, and it wasn’t until forward Hoku Afong subbed back into the match in the 70th minute that the Pirates took over. The sophomore connected on a spectacular header on a ball played into the box by Malia Brudvik, and then the two teamed up for another score just two minutes later.
The two goals give Afong a team-leading 11 on the season.
“Everett is fighting for their playoff lives and have been as hot as any team in the division for the last few weeks,” women’s coach Kanyon Anderson said.
“They are an athletic and talented team and I was pleased with our ability to fight hard for a result even though we clinched the division a few days ago. It says a lot about the competitive spirit of this group.
“Bailie Zuber did a great job playing on 90 minutes at center back. Coby Yoshimura continues to be a high energy creative midfielder. And Hoku and Malia of course had two fantastic combinations that resulted in goals.”
The Pirates, who rested starters throughout the match, held on to win by that 2-0 margin, earning the seventh shutout for keeper Akari Hoshino.
“She was tested a bit more today and handled it very well,” Anderson said.
