Pasco’s Meraz Rodriguez, Potter named MCC’s top player and coach

A third straight conference championship and trip to the state playoffs earned Pasco’s dynamic scoring threat Jesus Meraz Rodriguez his second consecutive MCC Player of the Year nod, and coach Matt Potter his third Coach of the Year accolade in as many years.

Meraz Rodriguez — who scored an MCC-best 14 goals in league play — had two goals and two assists Saturday to lead the Bulldogs (17-4) to a 5-0 win over Wenatchee in the state quarterfinals, advancing them to the semis for the first time since 2009. They play Central Valley — the team that knocked them out of the quarterfinals the past two years — at 8 p.m. Friday at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup.

Meraz Rodriguez, a senior forward, was the MCC co-Player of the Year last season with now-graduated teammate and fellow forward Hector Magana. He scored six of his 20 goals in the playoffs last year, and was an easy choice for the top pick on the Herald’s All-Area team.

Pasco seniors Sergio Avalos (defender), David Uribe (midfielder) and Joel Valle (mid), and sophomore midfielder Edwin Aquino joined Meraz Rodriguez on the first team. Meraz Rodriguez’s junior brother, Kevin, was a second-team selection as a midfielder, and junior defender Ivan Ceja made the second squad as well.

The league’s second- and third-leading scorers, Kennewick’s Eddie Castillo (13 league goals) and Kamiakin’s Isaiah Arechiga (seven league, nine in playoffs), were first-team forwards behind Meraz Rodriguez.

Kennewick (13-6) tied Pasco for the most players named to the first and second teams (seven). Lions junior goalkeeper Xander Flannery was the only player with more than 1,000 minutes in goal and a goals against average below one (.96) in MCC play, and was named the second-team keeper, with Richland junior Jake Vooderoorte getting the first-team nod.

This story was originally published May 23, 2017 at 5:43 PM with the headline "Pasco’s Meraz Rodriguez, Potter named MCC’s top player and coach."