Class 3A boys soccer: Newport roars into title game; Meadowdale falls

CAMAS — Somebody finally had to lose.

But with Pedro Batres and Mirza Memic on their side, it wasn't about to be the Newport High School boys soccer team.

Batres, a senior, and Memic, a sophomore, did their part for perfection and became the highest-scoring, single-season duo in school history as the Knights beat North Thurston 3-1 yesterday in a battle of unbeaten Class 3A semifinalists at Doc Harris Stadium.

Memic scored a pair of goals — one early that broke the ice — and Batres added a goal and an assist as Newport (19-0-1) made the state-championship game for the fourth time in school history.

The Knights are one win from the school's second state crown in boys soccer.

"Most people don't get this experience, so we wanted to take this chance and make history," said Memic, who took away his team's nervousness with a goal in the 10th minute. "We've really felt confident the whole year. We've never lost once. I think that first goal loosened us up."

The Knights meet tournament-host Camas (17-1-2) in front of the Papermakers' home faithful in today's 5 p.m. final. North Thurston (18-1-1) plays Meadowdale (17-4-1) today at 11 a.m. for third and fourth places.

Camas beat Meadowdale 2-0 in yesterday's other semifinal.

"They've been our big guns all season," Newport Coach Paul Mendes said of Memic and Batres. "If one gets shut down, the other one rises up. It's back and forth with them."

Memic (22 goals) and Batres (20) eclipsed the scoring duo of Matt Allen and Matt Clarke, who tallied 20 goals apiece in 1989. Batres also has 18 assists.

"Pedro and I just click really well," Memic said.

The Knights won their lone state title in boys soccer in 1982 when the state declared one champion from all classifications. Twice Newport has entered the title match unbeaten — 1989 and 1998 — only to leave as runner-up.

The Knights set a school record with their 19th win, eclipsing the 1989 and 1998 teams. Now, they are rewarded with a hot Camas team and its supportive home crowd.

"They had a nice atmosphere with a lot of the town coming to see them play," Mendes said.

After a foul in the penalty area, Batres converted a penalty kick to give the Knights a 2-0 advantage in the 21st minute. Batres could have added another goal, but he missed another penalty kick extremely wide right in the 55th minute with his team clinging to a 2-1 edge.

"I'm especially pleased with how we dealt with North Thurston's good pressure after that," Mendes said. "After we missed the PK, we didn't tense up. We kept creating opportunities."

North Thurston struck back in the 24th minute as Patrick McBride nailed a perfectly placed left-footed shot just off the right post to trim the Newport lead to 2-1.

Newport broke the scoreless tie in the 10th minute on Memic's shot into the right corner off a pass from Tony Berkau.

Memic capped the scoring with an open-net goal in the 78th minute, dancing around North Thurston goalkeeper Ryan Perkins, who was out of position to defend the net.

Camas 2, Meadowdale 0 — The Mavericks had plenty more chances, but couldn't connect and little Dan Macaya made them pay in a big way.

Macaya, a speed-burning 5-foot-6, 140-pound forward, knocked in a pair of goals for Camas.

Macaya played the large and loud home crowd after each goal, pulling his jersey off once and pumping his clenched fists on both goals. He just wanted to thank the fans.

"Knowing that state was in Southwest Washington, that pushed us more to get here," said Macaya, a senior whose dangerous speed kept Meadowdale backpedaling on defense. "We wanted to play in front of our fans. The crowd helped a lot. In the halls all week, everybody kept asking me, 'What are you going to do when you score?'

"I said, 'I have to make that happen, first.' "

Camas took a 1-0 lead when Macaya knocked home his team-best 27th goal of the season on a give-and-go pass from Daniel Carlson in the 34th minute. Macaya pulled his jersey off and ran to the Camas fans, encouraging raucous cheers by waving his arms and thrusting them upward.

It was Carlson's team-leading 14th assist.

Macaya added another goal — his 28th of the spring — in the 80th minute with just under six seconds left on a 20-yard direct free kick into the right corner.

Meadowdale goalkeeper Eric Marty made a superb one-handed save on a rocket shot off the foot of Macaya in the 30th minute, stopping a sure goal in a 1-on-1 situation. Marty looked a bit like Spiderman as the ball seemed to stick to his hand momentarily.

Meadowdale, which had a 10-game winning streak snapped, will collect its best finish in state history regardless of today's outcome.