Saturday, May. 30, 2009

Pardini lets loose after victory

By Jack Millikin, Herald staff writer

Pasco coach Mike Pardini has been itching to get something off his chest all season long, but Friday's 3-0 win over Woodinville finally afforded him the perfect opportunity.

"Now I can say it. This team belongs in the state championship," Pardini said.

Pardini will get the chance for his third state championship with the Bulldogs. He earned his first as a player on Pasco's 1999 4A state title team and his second as head coach in 2007.

The top-ranked Bulldogs (23-0) will face South Kitsap (13-3-1), which upset No. 2 Marysville-Pilchuck 2-1 in a shootout in the other semifinal. The Wolves finished third in the Narrows League and has outscored opponents 48-17 this season.

"We watched most of their game today," Pardini said. "They've got a forward whose a good front-runner and a couple of pretty sneaky midfielders."

Despite their lack of size, the Bulldogs attacked and frustrated the much larger Woodinville players. Pasco excelled at set plays, using its quickness to play underneath the bigger bodies on defense.

Andrew Clark picked up his second playoff goal in the seventh minute, scoring off an assist from Marco Acevedo after a long throw in from Lucas Cash. Clark, stationed in front of the Falcons' net, didn't have to wait long before finding the ball right at his feet, and he slid it past Woodinville goalkeeper Logan Richards for a 1-0 lead.

"Coach just tells us to believe the ball will be there," Clark said. "Everybody came out hard and came out flying. It just carried on throughout the game."

The Bulldogs outshot Woodinville 20-6, putting 12 shots on frame, while the Falcons struggled to challenge Pasco keeper Emmanuel Martinez. He did come off his line in the first half to punch away a corner kick, but other than that his touches were limited almost entirely to goal kicks.

Richards, however, was impressive in the Falcons' net, stopping several would-be Bulldogs goals.

"The goalie was fantastic, but we knew that coming in," Pardini said. "There were times we strayed from the game plan, but anytime you can win 3-0 in the state semis is pretty impressive."

Pasco led 1-0 heading into halftime, but Jesse Macias found Martin Ramirez outside Woodinville's 6-yard box with a corner kick in the 51st minute. Ramirez, a junior defender, trapped the ball at his feet, dribbled to his right and fired it past Richards for a 2-0 lead.

"Martin's a gem -- a diamond in the rough," Pardini said. "To be able to score a goal in traffic with all those big guys around on a goalie like that is something."

The goal was Ramirez's second in the playoffs, but he showed he is yet another potential weapon to be dealt with.

"I'm happy for everything we've done," he said through an interpreter. "Everything we did, we did as a team."

Eddie Mendoza added Pasco's third and final goal in the 77th minute, driving a penalty kick past Richards for his second playoff goal.

In it's semifinal against Marysville-Pilchuck, South Kitsap showed a penchant for the wide-open style of play that Pasco is known for, using all of the field to mount an attack.

"They're kind of like Davis," said Bulldogs forward Paul Herrera, asked find a comparable CBBN team that fit the Wolves' style.

2A

SUMNER -- Victor Corona of Prosser scored in the 60th minute on an assist by Anthony Cervantez to answer Cheney's first-half goal, but the Mustangs were outmatched 3-1 in the shootout and lost 2-1 to Cheney in semifinals at Sunset Chev Stadium.

Prosser will play Archbishop Murphy at 3 p.m. today for third place.

1A

SUMNER -- Eduardo Arzate and Julio Ramirez each score a goal and had two assists as Connell beat Brewster 4-2 in semifinal at Sunset Chev Stadium.

The Eagles will play Columbia (White Salmon) at 5 p.m. today for the title.