By Eric Trent
“Before the game, he’s shaking, and I’m like ‘Are you alright, Trev? Are you nervous?’ and he’s like ‘No, I’m good. I’m going to do something today.’ He said those words to me,” Peninsula College sophomore keeper Nick Johnson said.
And, do something, he did.
Trevan Estrellado blasted a free kick to the far post and wrapped the ball through the net to put the Pirates up 1-0 with less than 10 minutes expired in the second half.
It would be the only score Peninsula would need in order to secure a quarterfinal win over Walla Walla and advance to the NWAC Final Four in Tukwila on Nov. 14th.
“Once I set the ball down, I back up and the wall is set up on the near posts. I looked up at the keeper, and as I was walking up, he took a step towards the near post. So, I told myself ‘OK, hit it far post,’” Estrellado said.
“It’s surreal, a dream come true. Right after the game, I ran straight to my parents and started crying tears of joy,” he said.
“As a family, we’re very happy to be where we’re at right now,” he said.
Drizzles of rain and wind assailed the players and turf for much of the game, making any chance of scoring a considerable effort for both squads.
Peninsula College’s first-year Head Coach Cale Rodriguez offered his take.
“Obviously, it feels great to be heading to the Final Four. This is what we’ve talked about all year long and to finally get there means you’ve accomplished something pretty special.”
The guys were hungry to keep our season alive and we had to battle a very good Walla Walla team to get there, but it’s well deserved. Having said that, we’ve taken every game one at a time so we’ll enjoy this one but get back to work to prepare for our opponent in the semis.”
The Pirate men face Chemeketa (7-3-2), from Salem, Ore. who are on an 8-game winning streak, in the semi-finals on Nov. 14 at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Wash.
