Sunnyside senior Alexander Huguez turned and flashed a smile to the crowd through the drizzling rain.
Huguez’s free kick from near midfield had barely made it over leaping Peoria Sunrise Mountain goalkeeper Connor Froysland, but it slipped just a foot wide of the goalpost. The defending state champion Blue Devils were just having fun at this point.
One of the best teams in the country, top-seeded Sunnyside (24-1) cruised past No. 4 Sunrise Mountain 5-2 in Saturday’s Class 5A state semifinals at Mountain View High School. The Blue Devils will play for their second consecutive state championship on Tuesday night.
They’ll return to Mountain View after the Arizona Interscholastic Association moved the game from Gilbert.
Sunrise Mountain (18-2), which allowed three goals in its first two playoff games, started the contest with a defense-focused approach, repeatedly dropping nine and even 10 players guys back to force Sunnyside to work methodically. That strategy failed when a sloppy turnover allowed a breakaway opportunity for Sunnyside’s Adrian Burruel-Valenzuela. The senior striker responded with a veteran move, chipping a shot to the right while darting to left, absorbing the contact and drawing a penalty.
Fabian Mendoza calmly slotted home the ensuing penalty kick to give Sunnyside a 1-0 lead just six minutes into the game. The senior attacking midfielder added his 20th goal of the season with a free kick to the back post two minutes into the second half, sealing the victory.
Peoria Sunrise Mountain’s Daniel Robertson, left, drags down Sunnyside’s Anthony Tamayo near midfield late in the match.
“He just makes things happen,” Sunnyside coach Casey O’Brien said. “He has all year long and his whole life. Sometimes when he touches the ball, great things happen. He’s got something special.”
Forward Demille Flores, whose pace frustrated the Mustang defense all afternoon, scored his 20th goal of the season firing a shot from outside the box into the lower right corner of the net midway through the second half. He added another score on a breakaway with eight minutes left.
The top-seeded Blue Devils have outscored opponents 96-10 this season. As a result, they’re one win away from another state title.
“Just think about the chance, get excited for it,” O’Brien said. “Last year was the first state championship. This year we get to go for the second one and do it in Tucson.”
Corner kick
Top-seeded Douglas fell to Scottsdale Arcadia 2-1 in overtime in the Class 4A state semifinal match played at Mountain View just before the Sunnyside-Sunrise Mountain game. Douglas entered Saturday having outscored its first two playoff opponents 8-2.
