WOMEN’S SOCCER: Peninsula women win quarterfinals with defense, goalkeeping

PORT ANGELES — The Peninsula College women’s soccer team was probably a little rusty, having only played one game in 19 days and only 14 games all season.

But the Pirates’ defense and goalkeeping was outstanding and one beautiful cross and goal in stoppage time at the end of the first half from a player who hadn’t scored all season was all they needed to beat Tacoma 1-0 to move on the NWAC semifinals.

The Pirates remain unbeaten and untied this season, but it’s been an odd year with only 12 regular-season games.

“That’s playoff soccer,” said coach Kanyon Anderson, who is used to these 1-0 postseason games. “That was tough. We have played one game in 19 days and looked super rusty.”

Peninsula’s goal came at the end of the first half with the whistle ready to blow at any instant. After a free kick, Kyla Hughes made a great run down the right wing and hit a perfect cross to Elise Maffeo, who was onside and kicked the ball in to the open net.

“That was a lovely goal. That was a pair of players I had just subbed in,” Anderson said.

Anderson credited the team’s defense for the win. “They never broke us down,” he said. Our entire back line played great, Evee [Stoddard], Gemma [Rowland], [Emma] Crystal.

It was the first goal of Maffeo’s college carer.

“It feels pretty good,” she said. “I’ve worked hard all season.”

“We came out and executed to the best of our ability. Could we do better? I think so,” she said.

While Maffeo’s goal was huge, this game belonged to the defense and keeper Alex Naill, who made two great saves in the final two minutes of the game.

The game almost got off to a bad start when Tacoma had a golden opportunity in the 12th minute as the Titans got behind the Pirates’ defense. A cross went to a wide-open Tacoma player, whose header went high over the crossbar by a few inches.

Shawna Larson and Risa Nishida were forces all game, repeatedly breaking down the Tacoma defense and getting off decent shot. Larson might have had the best shot in the 27th minute as she had Tacoma’s keeper down on the ground, but her hard shot was blocked by a Titans’ defender. Nishida forced a diving save in the 56th minute on a great shot. Peninsula nearly scored again in the 83rd minute when a hard, close shot literally went off the Tacoma goalkeeper’s head.

Naill made five saves total with three of them in the final 10 minutes of the second half. Tacoma had two golden chances for a goal after the 88th minute. The first came in a point-blank shot only a couple of yards out. It wasn’t a hard shot, but Naill didn’t have much time to react as she gobbled the ball up.

Two minutes later, Tacoma hit a hard, curving shot from just outside the box. This time, Naill had to make a diving save to preserve the shutout and the win.

Peninsula (13-0-0) next plays another unbeaten team and its latest bitter rival, Spokane (10-0-4), at the Starfire Soccer Center in Tukwila at 1:30 p.m. Friday. Spokane. Spokane beat Peninsula in the semifinals last year and in the quarterfinals in 2022.