MERIDIAN

TROJANS

Coach: Joe Spencer

Last year: Finished second in the Class 1A Northwest Conference standings with a record of 3-9-1. ... Ended season after going 0-1 in the Class 1A District Tournament and finished 4-12-1 overall.

Players to watch: Junior Castro (sr., F); Casey Bromet (sr., D); Kody Moreno (sr., M); Zach Donahue (sr., M), Tomas Alvarado (sr., F)

Outlook: It wasn't so long ago Meridian was a state-tournament team. The last two seasons, the Trojans have found wins in a very tough Northwest Conference harder to come by. Coach Joe Spencer's club is confident this season, so much that Spencer is making sure Meridian doesn't enter the season overconfident. With nine seniors, it's easy to see why the Trojans have high aspirations, but improvements on last season will need to be made if Meridian plans to reach the postseason and make a run. It starts with defense, and Casey Bromet, Dalton Lagerwey and Pavel Melnyk will be integral in reducing the 44 goals Meridian surrendered a year ago. Team leader Kody Moreno headlines the Trojans' midfield along with Zach Donahue, and Tomas Alvarado is a "special player" who can play up top and should produce goals. Junior Castro, who scored a team-high 12 goals last year, also returns. "We're super excited, and we hope to do some big things this year," Spencer said in a phone interview. "These kids have high expectations, because there are so many seniors, but we still have to remember we are the low man on the totem pole. We have 32 (players) versus teams who have 60."

2013 ROSTER

Player Yr. Pos.

Tomas Alvarado Sr. F

Jake Birnel So. M

Casey Bromet Sr. D

Patrick Carlson Sr. GK

Junior Castro Sr. F

Zach Donahue Sr. M

Alan Eyoub Fr. M

Brad Hamner Sr. M

Dalton Lagerwey Sr. D

Rico Martinez Fr. F

Pavel Melnyk Sr. D

Kody Moreno Sr. M

Limny Nolasco So. M

Yoel Ortiz Jr. D

Jeremy Ryan Fr. D

Oswaldo Zamora N/A D

2013 SCHEDULE

March 12 Blaine 4:30 p.m.

March 14 at Anacortes 6 p.m.

March 16 Sedro-Woolley noon

March 18 at Lynden (Bender)* 4 p.m.

March 20 Nooksack Valley* 4:30 p.m.

March 22 at Sedro-Woolley* 6 p.m.

March 26 Bellingham* 4:30 p.m.

March 28 Squalicum* 4:30 p.m.

April 9 at Friday Harbor 4:30 p.m.

April 11 at Blaine (Pipeline)* 4:30 p.m.

April 15 Anacortes* 4:30 p.m.

April 17 Ferndale* 4:30 p.m.

April 19 at Burlington-Edison* 6 p.m.

April 23 at Lynden Christian (Bender)* 3:30 p.m.

April 25 Sehome* 4 p.m.

April 29 at Mount Baker* 4:30 p.m.

*NWC game

Reach ANDREW LANG at andrew.lang@bellinghamherald.com or call ext. 862.