PORT ANGELES — The Peninsula College women’s soccer team is used to NWAC championships, with five over the past decade.

The team is used to being ranked No. 1 in the entire NWAC.

Now, the women have set a new — and exceptionally lofty — standard.

At the conclusion of the 2021 season, the women’s team ended up ranked No. 1 … in the entire nation.

In a national poll conducted by the United Soccer Coaches, the Pirates finished No. 1 among Division II community colleges in the nation. The women had been ranked No. 3 in the nation before winning the NWAC championship two weeks ago, but leaped up to the top spot at the end of the season.

The Pirates finished the season undefeated with two draws and had an astounding 14 shutouts in 17 games.

Coach Kanyon Anderson doesn’t know yet what this means for the program.

“What I’m excited about is high-water marks. In 2017, we scored 142 goals, the most in NWAC history. In 2021, we allowed three goals, the lowest in league history. This is our fifth championship, the most in NWAC history. We’ve won 10 division titles,” Anderson said.

“The bar has been set pretty high,” he said. “I wasn’t sure the bar could be set any higher.”

Anderson said assistant coach Andrew Cooper deserves credit for the team’s top ranking. He said Cooper felt the women were being overlooked by the United Soccer Coaches voting committee and wrote a long letter to the group explaining what the team had accomplished this season.

“I think it put a few more eyes on our success,” Anderson said.

Anderson said he isn’t sure if the top ranking will help with recruiting, but that it’s a “nice little extra reward for the players.”

In addition to the national honor, Anderson was named the NWAC Women’s Coach of the Year this week.