PORT ANGELES — The Northwest Athletic Conference quarterfinals at Wally Sigmar Field on Saturday will feature two different storylines.
The Peninsula College women match up against North Idaho at noon, and the Peninsula men take on Walla Walla at 2 p.m.
The winner of each match advance to the NWAC Final Four on Nov. 14-15 at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila.
The women’s match features a Pirates team that has won five straight division titles and has not only reached the Final Four four straight years, but has played in four straight NWAC championship games and won two, in 2012 and 2013.
The Pirates are ranked No. 1 in the NWAC and are in the top 10 in the nation, according to the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America Division I Junior College Women’s Soccer Poll.
North Idaho, meanwhile, is a newcomer to the NWAC after leaving the National Junior College Athletic Association following its 2013 season.
The Cardinals placed third in the NWAC East Division in 2014 and finished second this year under 13-year head coach Dan Hogan.
North Idaho was not ranked in the final 2015 Alaska Airlines NWAC Coaches Poll.
Peninsula finished 19-1-0 and 14-1-0 in North Division play, its only blemish a 1-0 loss at Everett on Sept. 16.
The Cardinals went 11-5-2 overall (8-3-1 in the East), including a 5-0 loss at Peninsula in a non-conference match Sept. 5.
The Pirates lead the conference in goals scored with 85 and in goals against with only six. The Cardinals have 42 goals this year and have allowed 21.
However, despite the stats, standings, rankings and history, this is the postseason, so Peninsula coach Kanyon Anderson is not looking past the Cardinals.
“There are no easy matchups at this point of the season,” Anderson, the only head coach in the program’s six-year history, said.
“Our early season game against them means very little at this point because so much has changed.”
Anderson said the “talented and physical” Cardinals proved to be formidable this season.
“They came within a goal of winning the East Division against a very good Spokane team,” Anderson said.
“They are good enough to win the whole tournament, but we are playing well and feel confident about our chances.”
The Cardinals earned a spot in the quarterfinals with a 2-1 nod over Chemeketa, the third-place finisher from the South Division, on Wednesday in Coeur d’Alene. Their goals came from Jasmine Smith and Emily Aspen.
Players to watch for Peninsula include sophomore Lexi Krieger, who leads the Pirates in scoring with 14 goals, and also has seven assists, and freshman Myu Ban, who leads the NWAC in assists with 13, and also has five goals.
Freshman Ellie Small has come on strong in the second half of the season and now has nine goals and eight assists, while sophomore Tasha Inong recently returned from a knee injury and has still managed nine goals and two assists in half of a season.
Defensively for the Pirates, sophomore goalkeeper Mania Siania-Unutoa is second in the NWAC in shutouts, and sophomore Tori Hagen is the leader of a back line that is among the best in the nation.
Players to watch for North Idaho include freshman Megan Lowery, who has 12 goals and three assists, and sophomore Haley White, who leads the team in assists with seven, and also has four goals.
Men’s match even
The men’s matchup is different. It features two evenly matched teams with storied NWAC histories and relatively new coaches.
First-year head coach Cale Rodriguez guided the Pirates to the North Division championship with an 11-2-2 conference record and a 13-3-3 overall mark.
It is the seventh straight division championship for Peninsula, which has appeared in the NWAC Final Four four of the last five years, winning NWAC titles in 2010, 2012 and 2013.
The NWAC’s second-ranked Pirates have scored 47 goals thus far, allowed 18 and lead the conference in shutouts with nine.
The Warriors, under second-year head coach Jordan Hacker, were ranked No. 6 in the final NWAC poll and placed second in the East Division this year with a 7-4-4 record (10-4-6 overall).
The Warriors have scored 36 goals, allowed 27 and have five shutouts. They last won the NWAC in 2008.
In their only meeting this year, the Pirates and Warriors played to a scoreless tie in both teams’ season opener Aug. 29 in Springfield, Ore.
“I expect a very competitive game on Saturday,” Rodriguez said.
“We played Walla Walla our very first game of the year at the [NWAC] Friendlies. They were a good team, and I expect them to be just as good if not better, so we’ve got our hands full.
“It’s going to take a tremendous effort and performance from our guys to get a result and to keep our season alive.
“I know the guys have been waiting for this opportunity all season. Saturday can’t come soon enough.”
The Warriors earned a berth into Saturday’s quarterfinal round of the NWAC playoffs with a 2-0 win over Southwestern Oregon, the third-place team in the South Division, on Wednesday in Walla Walla.
The hosts scored twice in the first half, on goals by Jose Anguiano and Alex Saldana. Francisco Flores earned the shutout.
Leading the Pirates’ attack in 2015 is freshman Johnny Martinez, who is ranked third in the NWAC in scoring with 12 goals and also has five assists, and sophomore Keo Ponce, who has 11 goals and one assist.
Sophomore Eddie Benito, who recently returned from an injury, has six goals and six assists.
Freshman goalkeeper Nick Johnson leads the NWAC in shutouts with nine, and sophomore Santi Sierra is the captain of a strong defensive unit.
Walla Walla is led by freshman Emilio Meraz-Rodriguez with nine goals and eight assists, and sophomore Anguiano with seven goals and five assists.
Flores has three shutouts.
Both matches will be streamed live online at Peninsula’s UStream page at www.tinyurl.com/PDN-PCStream.
Admission is $4 for adults and $2 for seniors, veterans and youth 13-17. Children 12 and younger and Peninsula College students and staff are admitted free.
