Ready and waiting.

Peninsula’s Pirates, the top-ranked team in the NWAACC and defending conference champions, tuned up for their 2013 playoff run with a pair of wins last week to close the regular season.

On Oct. 30, Bri Afoa scored a hat trick (three goals) in a 4-1 victory against the Bellevue Bulldogs, with assists from Alexandra Rojas-Ayala, Larkyn Nelson and Brenda Torres.

Nelson added a highlight reel-worthy score at the 63-minute mark, working her way past a defender on one corner of the field and looping an 18-yard shot to the far corner of the Bellevue net.

On Nov. 2, after honoring their 15 sophomores in their final regular season match, the Pirates (16-0-0 in conference play, 17-2-0 overall) put 13 goals on the scoreboard in a 13-0 mauling of Lower Columbia’s Red Devils.

Already playing shorthanded thanks to injuries (they started just nine players), the Red Devils saw Afoa open the scoring in the first two minutes from conference assist leader Bronte Fitzsimmons. Afoa added two more goals for her second hat trick in as many games.

Fitzsimmons, Alyssa Bertuleit and Kayla Dosh had two scores each, and Annie Armstrong, Kelsie Ng and Mary Pierce added one a piece.

Laura Morgan needed just one save for her third shutout of the season.

Peninsula coach Kanyon Anderson let up in the second half, matching Lower Columbia’s nine players for the final 45 minutes.

The NWAACC playoffs begin today, Nov. 6, with first round games. Thanks to securing an NWAACC West Division title, Peninsula receives a first round bye and hosts a second round game on Nov. 9, with the winner advancing to the Final Four on Nov 16.

Peninsula takes on the winner of the Nov. 6 first round match between Whatcom (North No. 2 seed) versus Clark (South No. 3 seed).