COLLEGE SOCCER: Peninsula men, women clip the Cardinals

PORT ANGELES — The Peninsula College soccer women quickly erupted to a 3-0 lead over Skagit Valley in the first 16 minutes of the match en route to their 16th-straight win this year and their 29th win in a row dating back to midseason last year.

The women went on to win 4-1 over the Cardinals to keep their record perfect on the season. The Peninsula men also won a hard-fought 1-0 win over the Cardinals to keep their hold on first place in the North Division.

In the women’s game, Sam Oliveira had two goals, with both of them assisted by Miya Clarke. Clarke also added an unassisted goal. That gives Oliveira an NWAC-leading 17 goals and 37 points on the season and Clarke 26 points (fourth in the NWAC) on the season.

Grace Johnson also had a goal, just two minutes into the match. Her goal was assisted by Kayla Alcott. It was the Chimacum product’s eighth goal of the season.

The Pirates had 14 shots in the game, seven of them by Oliveira and eight on-goal. Skagit Valley had just five shots by comparison.

The women have now outscored their opponents 64-6 on the season.

The Pirates (12-0-0 — 36 points, 16-0-0) next play at Edmonds (1-10-1 — 4 points, 1-12-1) at 2 p.m. Friday as they try to complete a perfect regular season over their final three matches.

Men’s Game

Peninsula 1, Skagit Valley 0

Though the Cardinals are not one of the top teams in the North Division with a losing record in division, they have given the Pirates men a hard time all season.

The Pirates swept three matches against the Cardinals this season, but all three were low-scoring games decided by one goal — 2-1, 2-1 and 1-0.

The three points gained in the Cardinals’ game was important for the Pirates to stay comfortably ahead of Whatcom, which beat the Peninsula on Oct. 9. After the Skagit Valley victory, the Pirates have 31 points in the North Division, while Whatcom is in second with 25 points.

The Pirates’ goal came midway through the first half on an unassisted shot by Yuya Yamamoto.

While the score was close, the Pirates dominated in shots with 18 shots and 10 on-goal to the Cardinals’ five shots and three on-goal.

Evan Scholes played the whole 90 minutes in goal to give Peninsula its eighth shutout of the season.

Peninsula (10-1-1 — 31 points, 13-1-1) next plays at Edmonds (2-8-2 — 8 points, 3-9-2) at 4:15 p.m. Wednesday. The Pirates get a crucial match at home Saturday against second-place Whatcom where Peninsula would lock up the North championship with a win. Whatcom won the North Division in 2017 and 2018.