Hundreds of soccer fans from all over Western Washington not only enjoyed five hotly contested soccer matches, but they were treated to great food, beverages and sunny weather at the fourth annual Rumble in the Rainforest Saturday at Sigmar Field on the Peninsula College campus.
The event, a fund-raiser for athletic scholarships, netted $5,000.
“This community continues to astonish me with their support of our athletic programs,” said Rick Ross, Associate Dean for Athletics and Student Life. “Our staff, led by Tim Tucker, put on a great show, with two professional teams and four college teams, and our fans and our sponsors came up big once again. I’m convinced that the five NWAC championships and nine division titles we’ve won in soccer alone over the past five years just wouldn’t have happened without that support.”
The five exhibition soccer matches were all close. The day opened with the Peninsula College men defeating the Olympic Force, a professional team that plays in the Evergreen Premiere League, 2-1. The two Pirate goals came from Victor Sanchez and Kassio Monteiro.
The second game saw the Kitsap Pumas, who played in the USL Premier Development League’s National Championship last year, defeat St. Martin’s, an NCAA Division II club that won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference last fall 3-0.
In the only women’s match on the schedule, the Pirates battled the St. Martin’s women to a 1-1 tie. Peninsula’s goal came on a corner from Brittany Yoshimura that found the net off a run by Lexi Krieger, with a little help from a St. Martin’s defender.
Game four saw the Kitsap Pumas defeat the Pirates 2-1. Peninsula’s goal came on a free kick from the top of the box from Trevan Estrellado.The final match of the day saw St. Martin’s and Olympic Force play to a scoreless tie.
The Rumble also marked the head coaching debut of Peninsula’s Cale Rodriguez.
“The rumble is a fantastic event for our guys to play in against some quality competition,” Rodriguez said. “We can only accomplish so much in training during the spring, so when you have an opportunity to play a match against an opponent other than yourself it’s extremely beneficial.”
The former University of Redlands assistant said the games provided him his first opportunity to see his team play.
“It gave me the chance to evaluate certain individuals, where we are as a team, some of our deficiencies, and how I’d like to move forward in terms of recruiting and preparation for the fall,” Rodriguez said. “Overall I was pleased with our guys, but we certainly have a lot of work to do.”
Women’s head coach Kanyon Anderson said he also enjoyed the off-season game.
“It was a great chance for our players to get out and play someone other than ourselves,” he said.
“The Rumble is a reward for all of the hard work the players put in over the off-season. It was especially nice to see some of our graduates return to Sigmar Field. Steve Prevost, Ash Appollon, and Gil Avelar, who are playing professionally for the Pumas and the Force. The Rumble’s major sponsors, Wilder Auto Center, Windermere Real Estate, High Energy Metals, Olympic Distributing, Next Door Gastro PUB, and Pirate Cove Café, were largely responsible for the event’s financial success, Ross said.
Also contributing to the 2015 Rumble was the Peninsula College Automotive Program’s Car Show, as well as the Storm King Soccer Kid’s Zone, and volunteer help from Port Angeles Youth Soccer.
The event also featured a free coaches clinic for area high school and youth coaches.
