Peninsula Daily News
PORT ANGELES – Two members of the Peninsula women’s soccer team back line received the highest honors this week from the National Junior College Athletic Association.
Sophomore center back Halle Watson was named NJCAA Division I All-American and fellow center back Samantha Guzman was named NJCAA Division I First Team All-West Region.
The honors were announced this week by the United Soccer Coaches.
Watson and Guzman not only served as a powerful back wall on the NWAC-championship Pirates team this year, the duo combined for a goal in the championship match against Clark, with Halle assisting on a free kick and Guzman tallying the goal on a header.
“Congratulations to both Halle and Sam for the well-deserved honors,” said head coach Kanyon Anderson. “They are the most physically dominant center back duo I have seen in my nine years in the league. They are good in the air, good in the one v. one, good with the ball, good in communication and great competitors.”
Watson and Guzman also earned NWAC honors, as North Region All-Stars, representing a team that allowed only 10 goals the entire season – and no goals in the three playoff matches leading to the program’s fourth NWAC championship.
“Having started together for two full years, they have developed a fantastic understanding on and off the field,” Anderson said.
“They seem to genuinely respect and appreciate each other. Our entire style of play this year was based on knowing that we had two incredible central defenders. We gave up no goals in the playoff run making us the first team in a decade to accomplish that feat [Columbia Basin is the only other women’s soccer team in NWAC history to go through the playoffs with all shutouts in 2008]. Coaches talk about getting certain players once in a decade and to have two at the same time has been so much fun,” he said.
Both sophomores are fielding offers to play at four-year schools and are expected to sign in the coming months.
Samantha Guzman
