PORT ANGELES — A youth movement is afoot for the Peninsula College women’s soccer team.
The five-time NWAC Champion Pirates return 12 sophomores, many of whom played starting roles for 2022’s NWAC North Region champs. That bunch will provide the underpinning for the team’s hopes of a deep NWAC Tournament run in November.
But it’s how and where the large freshman class will plug in and play that is the overarching theme of the 2023 preseason.
“We are young this year with the biggest incoming freshman class [20 players] we have ever had,” head coach Kanyon Anderson said. “We are still in the process of figuring out the pieces and where they fit together. At this point we want to see players who are hard working, competitive and committed and we are seeing that in droves.
“We have depth everywhere and good players at every position. It’s all a matter of figuring out the best chemistry.”
Led by last season’s second-leading scorer Briana-Jean Tanaka (nine goals, five assists), Peninsula also brings back fellow forward Sydney Soskis (three goals, three assists), plus Alexia Rodriguez-Burdeaux (two goals, one assist) and Maylin Rivera (one goal).
Caneel Corpuz, a standout at left back from the 2021 Pirates’ NWAC Championship squad, redshirted in 2022 after a knee injury and will see time in midfield this fall.
Wagner impressing
Sequim’s Hannah Wagner already notched a goal in a preseason exhibition against the University of Victoria on Sunday. She’s seen time at a number of positions and could bounce between spots during the season. Wagner scored two goals while playing in 13 games last season.
“She could be our best utility player in the last five years,” Anderson said of Wagner. “She scored a goal against Victoria, played some outside back, then scored a goal. My moving her around isn’t because I don’t value her, it’s because she can do anything and play anywhere.”
Sophomore center backs Lauren La Fountain and Emily Eckert earned “lots of minutes and experience,” last fall according to Anderson.
“Blake Plummer right back, and Keilee Silva at left back both started playoff games,” Anderson said.
Sophomore goalkeeper Talia Marini saw action in 10 games last season, starting one and allowing zero goals. Marini pulled double-duty as a member of the Pirates’ women’s basketball team last winter as well.
“It looks we have really, really solid goalkeeping which is cool,” Anderson said.
PA’s Petty a Pirate
Port Angeles’ Anna Petty joined the Peninsula program after a stellar career as a Roughrider.
“Anna Petty has played really well recently,” Anderson said. “She’s at forward and she’s brave, athletic and reads the game really well and sets other players up really well. A point guard on the field.
Freshman Gemma Rowland was a 3A/2A/1A all-state first team pick at defender out of Central Linn High School near Corvallis, Ore.
She is a triplet, part of a wave of Rowland’s set to arrive on the Peninsula College campus.
Sister Maya and brother Ryan are planning to play for the Pirates women’s and men’s basketball teams, respectively.
Montesano’s Jaiden King, an all-state midfielder for the Bulldogs, also will be in the mix.
Anderson’s program goals are multi-faceted.
In his 14th season as the only head coach in Peninsula women’s history, the five-time NWAC champion coach said there’s been a recalibration of focus in recent years.
“Part of a paradigm shift for me, it’s always been we have to win the division, we have to win championship at the end of the season,” Anderson said. “But that focus can limit the scope of what program can do for a player. We have them for 12 league games, 18 hours, and they’ll be here at Peninsula for 10 months each year. That’s a drop in the bucket of what we are doing to help them grow as people, as students and hopefully move on and continue to get their schooling paid for through soccer.
“We try to think about league and the NWAC as being a really tiny part of what we do with the primary objective having these players have a career beyond PC.”
Competition-wise, Anderson expects Skagit Valley, Bellevue and Everett to offer the most challege this fall and considers defending champ Spokane, Lower Columbia, Columbia Basin and North Idaho as championship contenders.
Peninsula College Pirates
• Head Coach: Kanyon Anderson, 14th season (220-22-18), 5-time NWAC Champion.
• 2022 record: 10-0-0, 12-2-0, lost to eventual champion Spokane in an NWAC Quarterfinal penalty kick shootout.
• Players to Watch: Briana-Jean Tanaka, F, So.; Lauren La Fountain, D, So.; Emily Eckert, D, So.; Sydney Soskis, F, So.; Maylin Rivera, MF, So.; Keilee Silva, D, So.; Alexia Rodriguez-Burdeaux, MF, So.; Blake Plummer, D, So.; Caneel Corpuz, MF, RSo.; Hannah Wagner, Utility, So.
• Newcomers: Anna Petty, F, Port Angeles; Jaiden King, MF, Montesano; Gemma Rowland, D, Central Linn HS, Halsey, Ore.
• Outlook: Pirates are deep and talented and have the best coaching staff in the NWAC. A Final 4 or championship game appearance is always a possibility.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
Peninsula’s Sydney Soskis, right, gets into a rundown with Bellevue’s Haleigh Macugay during an October 2022 game.
KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS Peninsula’s Maylin Rivera, front, battles for control with Everett’s Lucy Soriano-Sanchez as fellow Trojan’s Shaelyn Gerrodette, left, and Taejah Hardeman watch from the backfield on Saturday in Port Angeles.
