The Peninsula College men’s soccer team comes into this season with their usual high expectations.

The Piratee is coming off another successful season after going 15-1-1, winning a North Division title and making it to the Northwest Athletic Conference quarterfinals in 2021.

Coach Jake Hughes said the North Division is going to be very tough this year. Whatcom has turned into a huge rival for the Pirates. The Orcas came in second in the North to the Pirates but went on to make it all the way to the NWAC championship game, losing to champion Highline 4-3.

Hughes said there is a lot more to the expanded North than Whatcom this season.

“I think the whole of the North is really difficult,” he said. “Whatcom is good, Everett is good, Skagit Valley has a new coach. Bellevue is moving into the North. We have an extremely difficult schedule.”

The five-team North will be a seven-team division this year with Shoreline also returning to field a soccer team. The Pirates will play some “crossover” games with teams from the West Division along with 12 North games.

The men won the NWAC championship in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2019, and a return to the title game is always a goal for the Pirates.

The Pirates played scrimmages in Canada earlier this month against the University of Victoria and the Lakehill Soccer Club.

“Our players are extremely hard working. They’re very focused and dedicated. They’re very workmanlike,” Hughes said of what he saw in this weekend’s scrimmages.

He said in addition to being hard workers, his players showed a lot of technical skills, which “makes for a pretty exciting combination.”

Newcomers that fans should keep an eye on include Japanese player Inchun Hun. The Pirates have had success in recent years with some outstanding and flamboyant players from Japan and Korea.

Hughes described Hun as a hybrid forward. “He shows a lot of technical qualities. He’s strong assisting and scoring,” he said.

Alfie Tucker from the United Kingdom is another good player to keep an eye on. He is a left-footed defensive wingback who will be utilized in the team’s attack. “He’s tenacious. He’ll be fun to watch,” Hughes said.

Matthew Enriquez is another newcomer to watch: “He’s part of a long line of Hawaiian players [at Peninsula]. He’s hard-working and athletic,” Hughes said.

The Pirates graduated leading scorer Nico Hernandez but have plenty of firepower returning from last year, such as captain Tim Deser, a tall and physical player, and Dylan Pauw, a “big strong, powerful” defender, according to Hughes.

Shu Kato is also back for the Pirates.

“He plays with elegance and grace, but he’s also quite tenacious,” Hughes said of Kato.

Fernando Tavares and Alfonso Edfeldt also return from last year’s squad. Kai Biegler, who scored six goals last year, is also back.

The Pirates were slated to play Blue Mountain on Aug. 23 and to play Rogue — a team that knocked the Pirates out of the postseason last year — on Aug. 24, with both NWAC Friendlies played in Tukwila.

Peninsula plays at Highline, the defending NWAC champion, on Aug. 31.

Pirates win opener

At Wally Sigmar Field, the Peninsula College men’s soccer team had the flags of a dozen or so nations flying — Germany, Japan, Switzerland, Great Britain and Spain included.

And the international flavor of the Pirates was on full display in the Aug. 18 season-opening 4-0 win over Wenatchee Valley.

Pau Vivas Ayala from Barcelona, Spain, playing in his first game for the Pirates, tallied all four goals in the first half. Two goals were assisted by Don Vaios Dovas from Hamburg, Germany.

Another was assisted by Tim Deser of Obing, Germany, a Pirates’ returner from 2021.

Ayala’s fourth goal was on a direct free kick just outside the penalty area.

Ayala said he’s had four-goal games before in Spain. But, he didn’t see this coming in his Peninsula College opener.