Peninsula College’s soccer squads nearly pulled off a title double, but settled for a NWAC championship for the PC men and a second-place finish for the women after both teams vied for top conference honors in Tukwila on Nov. 17.

Men topple Tacoma in PKs

The Peninsula College soccer men have returned to the pinnacle of the NWAC, beating Tacoma 3-1 in penalty kicks at the NWAC championship match at Starfire Sports Complex Sunday.

The game ended in a 1-1 tie in regulation.

Peninsula scored a spectacular goal in the first half when a corner kick was headed by Nico Hernandez to Hide Inoue, who headed the ball off the crossbar. Chunghwan Lee got the rebound and headed it in for a goal in the 31st minute.

Peninsula was just minutes away from winning the game when Jesus Flores scored a goal for Tacoma in the 84th minute.

The two teams played a scoreless overtime and the match went to penalties.

Peninsula actually missed its first two penalty kicks from Inoue and Lee, but Tacoma also missed its first two penalty kicks.

Yuya Yamamoto, Mason Haubrich then made two penalty kicks, while Tacoma made one and missed one.

With the Pirates up 2-1, Edgar Tavares kicked the winning penalty kick to give the Pirates the championship.

It is Peninsula’s first title since 2015.

Women fall on second OT

Seconds away from the game going to a decisive penalty-kick shootout, Peninsula’ College’s shot at a repeat NWAC women’s soccer championship was snatched away in stoppage time in a 1-0 double overtime loss to the Highline Thunderbirds on Sunday at Starfire.

The winning strike came after the Pirates had just missed out on their own opportunity to claim the game when North Region MVP Sam Oliveira slipped behind West Region MVP Hannah Jenkins in the goal box and gathered in a cross from Krysten McGuffey.

With her back to the goal, Oliveira tried to turn with the ball, but couldn’t gain full possession.

Thunderbirds goalkeeper Kate Nelson dove for the loose ball, finally corralling it after it trickled between her legs.

Nelson’s goal kick was played forward by Peninsula’s Toni Powsey and intercepted by Highline’s Cassidy O’Dell, with the ball then pin-balling forward to the T-Birds Hannah Anderson on the right side of the goal box.

Anderson won the second touch on the ball and found Sophia Leer with a pass at the top of the box between four Pirate defenders. Leer dribbled and scored to the far left post from just behind the penalty spot past on-rushing Peninsula goalkeeper Andrea Kenagy.

The strike was an improbable goal with Anderson and Leer going two-on-five against the heart of the Pirates’ defense. And it eliminated Peninsula’s shot at winning in a shootout — and came just minutes after the T-Birds’ second-leading scorer Rayna Santiago was carried off the field after suffering a lower leg injury.