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PASCO -- Marco Acevedo was enjoying a dream season in 2009.
The Pasco boys soccer team was undefeated through 19 games, and Acevedo -- along with the rest of his Bulldogs teammates -- felt like this the year they would lock up another 4A state title.
But a determined South Kitsap team burst Pasco's bubble with a 2-1 win in the 4A championship game.
Acevedo, a proud Bulldogs captain and Herald All-Area MVP, took much of the blame for that result despite being one of the main reasons for the team reaching that point.
The forward finished the season with a team-high 13 goals and 15 assists, earning first-team all-league honors for the third straight season.
"I think it just showed the character that Marco had," said Pasco coach Mike Pardini. "He wasn't a guy in the limelight as far as scoring goals, but he really swallowed the team goal to make it back to that game."
In six postseason games, Acevedo became the ultimate playmaker, recording two goals and nine assists.
In the 4A final, he nearly notched his 10th playoff assist, centering a pass in the final minute to the mouth of the South Kitsap goal.
But the shot sailed high, denying the Bulldogs the tying goal.
"I think I could've done a lot more," he said. "My knee was all messed up, and I had to give it time to warm up."
Now a Pasco graduate, Acevedo has come to terms with the loss and looks forward to continuing his career at Walla Walla Community College as part of a recruiting class that includes teammates Brady Espinoza, Paul Herrera and Miguel Acevedo.
"We were down, but after we all graduated it's all in the past," Marco said. "I look back and I can say at least I won a state title (2007). I could have no state titles.
"I'm really excited to start conditioning (at WWCC)."
Pasco fans may not have realized that while watching Acevedo's last game with the Bulldogs they were also bidding farewell to Pardini, who resigned last week as Pasco coach.
But Pardini picked up one final honor before leaving the coaching ranks as the Herald's Coach of the Year.
He had some tough company from Connell coach Hugo Garcia, who led the Eagles into their fourth state title game since 2002 and their sixth state trophy since 2001.
Prosser coach Rich Zoller guided the Mustangs to their first ever trophy finish after winning the third place game 2-1 over Archbishop Murphy.
Kennewick's Dwight Brayton gave some life to a sagging program, leading the Lions to their first playoff win since 2002 and a near upset of Pasco in the 4A Regionals.
"It means a lot to receive that honor," Pardini said. "It speaks volumes to the coaching staff I've been fortunate enough to be involved with and the personnel we had."
The Bulldogs graduate already has two championship rings -- one as a player (1999) and another as a coach (2007) -- but fell painfully short of a third this season.
"It's tough, because you come back to work and come back to reality," Pardini said. "You think about what went right and what could I have done to make it go right.
"But at the end of the day I'm pleased with how the guys persevered. With so many great players on the team, we still had to find a common goal."
Acevedo was joined by Kamiakin's Gavin Richter and Sunnyside's Brian Galvan in two-time all-area honorees.
Acevedo is also accompanied by four Pasco teammates on the first team in Andrew Clark, Espinoza, Emmanuel Martinez and Eddie Mendoza.
Rounding out the first team are: Jose Alvarado of Connell, Jarad Brisbin of Southridge, B.G. Guzman of Othello, Evan Johnson of Kamiakin, Alberto Quinones of Prosser and Miguel Angel Santana of Warden.
The Tri-City Herald's All-Area soccer squad
First team
MVP: Marco Acevedo, F -- Sr., Pasco, led team with 11 goals, six assists during regular season.
Jarad Brisbin, F-- Jr., Southridge, led CBBN with nine assists; also scored 8 goals.
Brian Galvan, F-- Sr., Sunnyside, 11 goals helped lead Griz back to 3A state.
B.G. Guzman, F-- Jr., Othello, CWAC co-MVP led league with 14 goals, 11 assists.
Andrew Clark, MF -- Sr., Pasco, numbers (3 goals, 3 assists) complement his defensive efforts.
Eddie Mendoza, MF-- Sr., Pasco, had 10 goals and six assists
to help fuel Bulldogs' attack.
Jose Alvarado, D-- Sr., Connell, scored 5 goals and anchored defense for 1A state runner-up.
Brady Espinoza, D-- Sr., Pasco, Bulldogs gave up only three goals with him playing sweeper.
Evan Johnson, D -- Sr., Kamiakin, anchored defense that had six shutouts, 1.00 GAA.
Miguel Angel Santana, D -- Sr., Warden, SCAC East MVP helped Cougars post 2.25 GAA
Alberto Quinones, MF -- Sr., Prosser, CWAC co-MVP led team to third at 2A state.
Gavin Richter, MF -- Sr., Kamiakin, had 10 goals, three assists for regional team.
Emmanuel Martinez, GK-- Jr., Pasco, posted CBBN-best 15 shutouts including three during playoffs.
Mike Pardini, coach -- Pasco, led team to league and district titles, runner-up finish at 4A state.
Second team
Goalkeeper--Abel Bautista, sr., Kamiakin
Forwards-- Eduardo Arzate, sr., Connell; Mynor Maza, sr., Prosser; Matt Smith, sr., Hanford; Nick Wood, jr., Richland
Midfielders-- Miguel Acevedo, sr., Pasco; Freddy Barragan, sr., Connell; Tim Feth, sr., Kiona-Benton; Heber Vazquez, jr., Wahluke
Defenders-- Isac Bergeson, sr., Moses Lake; Chris Garcia, sr., Prosser; Angel Hernandez, sr., Walla Walla; Adrian Martinez, sr., Wahluke
