Saturday, May. 23, 2009

No. 1 Pasco soccer set for matchup with Kamiak

By Jack Millikin, Herald staff writer

PASCO -- Kamiak didn't need Syracuse-bound forward Clayton Dubin to get Pasco's blood pumping.

Nor did the Knights have to erase a 4-2 deficit at Mead in a 5-4 shootout win Tuesday to draw the Bulldogs' attention.

When you get this far in the 4A state soccer playoffs, you have to be good.

Pasco (16-0), ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 2 in the nation in the latest NSCAA/adidas poll, will play host to Kamiak (11-8), the Wesco South co-champion, at 1 p.m. today at Edgar Brown Stadium.

"They're a hard-working team just like Lewis & Clark," said Bulldogs coach Mike Pardini, who has guided Pasco to state in each of his four years as coach, winning a 4A state title in 2007. "They dropped a couple nonleague games, but then they got some big wins at the end of the season."

The Knights have outscored opponents 35-27 and have the ability to score in clutch situations. Dubin, Kamiak's top offensive threat, scored twice -- including the game-winner -- in a 4-3 overtime win over Snohomish in the Wesco district semifinals. Tyler Hawkinson, a junior captain, scored the tying goal against Mead in the final seconds of regulation before winning Saturday.

Pardini is happy to have home-field advantage, but he knows Pasco must be error-free to return to its third Final Four in five years.

"We played well Tuesday (in a 5-0 win over LC) but we made some mistakes early," Pardini said, referring to some defensive lapses which led to some first-half scoring chances. "You can't make those types of mistakes and expect to come out alive."

The Bulldogs placed five players on the all-CBBN first team, including captains Marco Acevedo (13 goals, 12 assists), a two-time all-state forward, and defender Brady Espinoza. Pasco goalkeeper Emmanuel Martinez led the CBBN with a 0.33 goals-against average and 14 shutouts in 1,470 minutes.