Men’s soccer: Pirates stop Spokane for NWAC title

Published 9:33 am Tuesday, November 17, 2015

The Pirates are once again NWAC champions.

By winning a 4-3 thriller against Spokane on Sunday, Peninsula College’s men’s soccer squad earned its fourth conference championship in six years.

And they did it with a new coach, Cale Rodriguez, at the helm.

It didn’t come easy in the Nov. 14 championship game, as Jonathan Cortez — the NWAC leader in scoring — put Spokane up 1-0 in the first minute of the match. But just 2 minutes later, Peninsula answered with a header from Keo Ponce, who would go on to be named the tourney’s Most Valuable Player.

“We knew going into the game it was going to be a tough game, (that) Spokane was going to be a quality side,” Rodriguez said. “We had to put together our best performance of the year. Obviously it didn’t start off very well.”

The Pirates (16-3-3) looked to take control of the match from there, getting a goal from Santi Sierra (set up by Ponce) at 31 minutes and gaining a 3-1 lead early in the second half when Eddie Benito found Ponce for his second goal of the match.

But the Sasquatch — East Division champions who racked up a 13-5-4 mark overall — would not go away easily. Kazuki Tateishi scored from just beyond the box with a strike in the 55th minute that closed the gap to 3-2.

In the 76th minute, Spokane’s Eric Sanchez-Flores chipped in a shot over PC goalkeeper Nick Johnson’s head, and in a diving attempt to stop the goal, a Peninsula defender inadvertently placed the ball in his own goal, knotting the match at 3-3 with 14 minutes in regulation.

Peninsula’s Jose Soto made sure the game never went past regulation, scoring an unassisted goal with four minutes to play.

“I think our guys have been resilient all year long,” Rodriguez said. “We collective believed we were going to get it done. I think the guys earned it.”

Rodriguez said the Pirates’ depth played a key role in bringing home an NWAC championship.

“That’s been the strength of our team; it’s the depth of our team we’ve had that all year long,” the Peninsula coach said. “We have quality players all over the field. Ultimately that’s what you need to win championships.”

Peninsula advanced to the finals with a 3-1 win over Chemeketa on Nov. 14 in the NWAC semifinals.

The Pirates took an early lead when Joe Sorensen scored in the eighth minute. Chemeketa’s Igor Hubenya tied the game before halftime with a penalty kick score and it stayed 1-1 until Pirate C.J. Harvey headed one in off a Jonathan Vasquez assist for the game-winner. Ponce added some insurance with a score at the 85-minute mark off a Martinez assist.

Rodriguez said that while the season is over, the next one is already in sight.

“I know all too well in this profession the hard work never stops; (it’s) back on the recruiting trail right away,” he said.

“The goal was never the NWAC championship,” Rodriguez said. “It was to get these guys to strive for something bigger than that. The … championship is a byproduct of that. There’s still a lot of work to be done.”