Boys Spring Recap
We'll start with last spring with last spring and the 4A State Championship run by the Pasco Bulldogs. Pasco started the campaign off with seven consecutive victories en route to a 13-1 record in the MCC, finishing just one win ahead of the Richland Bombers.
Meanwhile in the GSL it was a close contest as Lewis & Clark, Ferris and Gonzaga Prep were neck-and-neck going into the final weeks of the season. The Tigers would take the league title over fellow 8-1 Ferris.
Pasco and LC were on a collision course for the regional crown, each posting relatively easy shutout victories to do so. The Bulldogs blanked Central Valley 4-0 and Walla Walla 3-0 while the Tigers topped Chiawana and Richland 2-0 and 3-0. Pasco would win the championship contest in a thrilling shootout decision, getting a late equalizer after trailing for an hour.
After opening round shutout wins, including a stunning 3-0 win for Pasco over Todd Beamer in a rematch of the previous year's state final, the pair squared off again in the state quarterfinals, this time in Pasco. Unlike the previous meeting, however, the two would go well into the match deadlocked before Pasco would get on the board with goals from Jorge Magana and Edwin Aquino in the 48th and 69th. Brooks Schaaf would pull the Tigers back within one, but the Bulldogs held on to advance to the final four.
Edwin Aquino and Oscar Cortez gave the Bulldogs a two-goal advantage in the semifinal against Eastmont as they advanced to the championship. The final was a stalemate throughout regulation with Aquino finding Ivan Cortez for the championship-winning strike three minutes into overtime.
"The state tournament is always going to be difficult to win, said Pasco head coach Matt Potter. "We knew we would have to win close games and execute when we had the chance to score. Todd Beamer and LC were both high quality opponents. Those tough games helped us to be prepared for the tough teams we faced in the final four.
"We believed in and stuck to our game plan and executed well enough to win that last game. The guys showed a lot of determination and grit in difficult situations and I am very proud of how they kept playing until the very end of each game."
Champs!!! pic.twitter.com/UGnU7epzIv— Pasco Athletics (@pascoathletics) May 27, 2018
With an 8-6 record Kennewick was the class of the 3A sides in the area while North Central edged out Mt Spokane in the GSL. The Lions easily claimed the regional title with a 5-0 and 3-0 wins over Mt Spokane and NC. They reached the state quarters before being eliminated.
In the 2A GNL it was a two-way race between Pullman and Clarkston with the Greyhounds taking the league title by a win and the regional crown with a 2-1 win over the Bantoms, who would go on to also earn a state berth via crossovers. Both would be eliminated in the opening round.
Lakeside dominated the NEA with a perfect record that continued unblemished into the state tourney before they were knocked out via a shootout in a scoreless affair that they dominated but were unable to find the net.
Girls Fall Recap
Central Valley ran away with the GSL 4A title with a perfect record while Kamiakin did the same in the MCC for the 3A crown. Richland gave the Bears an early playoff scare with a 2-2 contest that CV advanced from via a shootout, but otherwise it was an easy path to regional titles for both. The big surprise was fifth-seed University stunning MCC top seed Chiawana and eventually earning a berth to state with further upsets. Led by superstar Summer Yates, who missed stretches of the season with international duty but still dominated the region in scoring with 30 goals, the Riverhawks would also make state.
Chiawana's run ended early in a 1-0 loss at Wenatchee and Central Valley survived a shootout decision against Sumner in the first round. University, meanwhile, continued their run with a stunning 2-0 win over West Valley before having to face rival CV once more, exiting on a tight 1-0 affair. The Bears won another close one in the semifinal to reach the championship game, but came up just shy of third title in five years as Issaquah rallied with air of goals within five minutes of Kaelyn Barnes' opener in the first half.
In the 3A state tourney Kamiakin won twice at home before settling for a third place finish.
In the GNL East Valley took the league crown with just one loss, but it was rival West Valley that won the district tourney with a 5-4 thriller when the two met in the final. Second place league finisher Clarkston went on to join the Eagles at state while the Knights crashed out in the crossovers. The West Valley run, amazingly, continued into the state tournament with two more big offensive performances for 4-1 and 4-3 wins before they were victims of the same fate, 6-2, by eventual state champ Liberty in the semifinals. They would also fall 3-2 in the consolation match.
Deer Park dominated the NEA with an 11-1 mark, but needed overtime against Freeman on their path to state. Once there they eliminated Cle Elum in the, but were knocked out in the quarters by third place finisher La Salle.
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