Sixth straight Final Four

By Mike Drake

Ranked number one regionally and number 13 nationally, the Peninsula College Lady Pirates faced off with the Walla Walla Warriors on Nov. 5, 2016 at Wally Sigmar Field.

The winner would advance to the Final Four in Takwila on Nov. 11.

The Lady Pirates secured an early lead off a goal from Maddy Parton at 11 minutes. Kennady Whitehead provided the assist.

The Warriors could not match the speed of The Lady Pirates, as Hoku Afong scored the second goal off an assist from Cierra Hamilton at 35 minutes.

Eleanor Small was the next to capitalize off a sluggish Warrior defense at 45 minutes with the help of Kelly Keveshan’s assist.

With a 3-0 lead, The Pirates pushed harder. Sydney Warren scored at 54 minutes and Maddy Parton was credited with the last assist of the match.

The Pirates, now up by four at 89 minutes, added another point the lead with a goal from Sarah Reiber.

At the end of regulation, the crowd erupted as the bench emptied.

The Lady Pirates advanced to the Final Four for the sixth straight year.

Heidi Vereide was overcome with joy. She said, “I am ecstatic that we’ve made it this far. The team has worked incredibly hard, I’m really proud and look forward to the Final Four.”

Head Coach Kanyon Anderson spoke about reaching the deep run in the playoffs, “Getting to the final 4 is a relief.  I’m happy about it but it is also a weight off of us, because getting to the final four has been the goal all year.”

Anderson outlined the game plan going into Saturday’s match, “We tried to stay true to who we are.  We felt we were the better team and that they would have to adjust to us.  But, we respected their ability to score goals, their toughness in the middle of the field and their strong desire to win.  I think we were a bit more timid in the first half than normal because of our respect for them.”

On Nov. 11, The Lady Pirates play the North Idaho Cardinals at 12:30 p.m.

The Cardinals are 14-2-3 overall this season and The Lady Pirates are 17-1-1.

Anderson spoke of the Lady Pirates success, “We have won the last 6 division titles, advanced to the final 4 the last 6 years and made the finals 4 out of the last 5 years.  We won the whole thing in 2012 and 2013.”