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Powsey co-captains soccer team to championship

Upper Island Riptide graduate Toni Powsey is playing on the back line of the Peninsula College Pirates women’s soccer team in Port Angeles, Wash.
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Toni Powsey, right, is a defender on the NWAC Peninsula College women’s soccer team. Photo supplied

Upper Island Riptide graduate Toni Powsey is playing on the back line of the Peninsula College Pirates women’s soccer team in Port Angeles, Wash.

From her experience with Riptide coach Ash Mohtadi, Powsey’s confidence grew, which helped her selection as a Pirate team captain — uncommon for a freshman.

Fellow Riptide coach Scott Harris fuelled her competitive nature, and her passion for soccer, enabling Powsey to play strong, full games almost all season. Riptide director Shel Brodsgaard provided technical advice and encouragement to look to higher levels of soccer play. This led her to Peninsula College, which has one of the top junior college programs in the nation.

The Pirates started the season with some struggles, but made their way up to the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) championships on the Remembrance day weekend in Tukwila, Wash. The team had a tough 1-0 win in the semi-finals. Powsey only missed a few minutes of the game because of a nose bleed. In the final, the Pirates held a 2-0 lead to the end to become the 2018 NWAC soccer champions. Powsey had a shot that skimmed over the bar. But that was quickly made good by the cheering of other Peninsula athletes, who traveled to see the game — an example of the Pirates’ motto: ‘Strength through unity.’