Wednesday, May. 07, 2008

Acevedo powers Pasco over Wenatchee

By Jack Millikin, Herald staff writer

Marco Acevedo was a bit surprised Monday night when he found out that he had been named the Columbia Basin 4A League's co-Most Valuable Player in boys soccer.

"I didn't think I would get it because I'm only a junior," said Acevedo, who led the CBL with 19 regular-season goals. The agile striker shared the honor with Wenatchee midfielder Victor Navarro, against whom he squared off for the CBL district championship Tuesday night at Edgar Brown Stadium.

But during Pasco's 3-0 victory over the Panthers, Acevedo showed exactly why league coaches consider him one of the foremost offensive threats in the state.

Acevedo scored two second-half goals after a scoreless first half, including an impressive sniper-like blast from the left wing in the 55th minute.

"It was probably one of my best goals of the season," Acevedo said.

The Bulldogs, who clinched a state berth with the victory, will play at Central Valley at 6 p.m. Friday for the regional title.

Wenatchee will play host to Mead on Friday.

At first glance, Acevedo didn't appear to be in scoring position on his second goal after tracking down a pass from Michel Molina deep in the box with his back to the goal. But Acevedo wheeled around from an acute angle and beat Wenatchee keeper Angel Guerra inside the near post to make it 2-0 Pasco.

"Goal scorers find ways of scoring," said Bulldogs coach Mike Pardini, who earned his second straight CBL district title. It was Pasco's 10th district title since 1993. "You try to teach them what they should know -- when to shoot, when not to shoot, what angles aren't right. Sometimes when you're in the box, you just have at it."

The goal broke open what had been a tight, defensive-minded matchup until the end of the first half. The Panthers had held possession for much of the first half and missed a golden opportunity when Brent Thiessen centered a pass from the right flank to Tomas Sauceda in the 29th minute.

But Sauceda's shot from 15 yards went high, keeping Wenatchee off the board.

"One shot can turn the tide," said Panthers coach Dennis Tronson. "I felt they adjusted to go directly and quickly as possible to the goal. We tried to limit Marco's touches, and we did a good job. But once you give up a goal it tends to change the way you play."

Pardini was a little concerned about his team's first-half play after watching several missed connections between attackers and midfielders.

"It's exciting to win with such a young group," said Pardini, who was named CBL coach of the year for the second straight season. "I felt like we were defending the entire (first half). We can't keep doing that or (Greater Spokane League) teams are going to come out flying at us."

Pasco was solid on defense, and all-CBL goalkeeper Emmanuel Martinez recorded his fourth straight shutout, making four saves.

"Jesse Macias did a fantastic job defending Navarro," Pardini said. "He's the guy Wenatchee keys to. Jesse stuck to him and didn't allow him to turn."

Herrera capped the scoring in the 69th minute, corralling a pass from Andrew Clark and beating Guerra with a low roller from the right flank.

Scoring—1, P, Marco Acevedo (Paul Herrera), 48:00; 2, P, Acevedo (Michel Molina), 55:00; 3, P, Herrera (Andrew Clark), 69:00. Shots—W 8, P 16. Saves—W, Angel Guerra 7. P, Emmanuel Martinez 4.

• Comments
• Add Comment
• Disclaimer