HS Student-Athlete of the Week: Sunnyside’s ‘unselfish’ soccer star and conference record-breaker

To say that Sunnyside varsity soccer player Angel Bracamontes Pulido is having an incredible season is an understatement.

He recently became the all-time career leader in total points scored, goals and assists in the 6A conference with 81 goals, 233 points and 71 assists recorded, according to MaxPreps.

He also has numerous single-game records in 6A for most goals, most assists and most points in a game.

But, if you were to ask the high school senior about his record-breaking stats, he probably wouldn’t be able to tell you about them off the top of his head. The high schooler doesn’t pay much attention to things like that.

Not because it’s not important or he doesn’t care, but because he just wants to focus on playing soccer with the teammates he grew up with. The numbers come second.

“A lot of these guys have been playing for so long together,” said Casey O’Brien, Sunnyside’s varsity boys soccer coach and athletic director. “So, it just means a lot to try to go out on top together and just compete together. And I think that, honestly, it’s kind of a good thing that they don’t really pay attention to any of that stuff during the season and that they really just focus on the games and their team and their chemistry.”

Together the team went 11-1 overall and 7-1 in their conference in the regular season before leaving their mark on this year’s AIA Winter Soccer Open State Championship.

The team took down Gilbert High School 1-0 in round one of the open on Feb. 12 and dominated Salpointe Catholic 3-0 in round two on Feb. 14.

However, the team fell short against Pinnacle High, 1-2 in OT, in the quarterfinals on Feb. 19.

Ending his season with a state championship win was the dream for Bracamontes Pulido and even though they didn’t make it all the way this year, he’s just happy to finish his time at Sunnyside with his friends.

“I’m proud of every single one of them,” he said. “They’ve all been working hard. I would say they work harder than me, too. Honestly, most of my friends, they work hard and that’s who I look up to. They keep me going and they keep the team working.”

Bracamontes Pulido played on various teams as a kid, including Man City where the current team chemistry initially formed years ago.

But, his soccer journey began long before his time with his teammates.

He began playing soccer around 3 when his parents put him on a south-side club team after noticing that he loved kicking a ball around.

“Ever since I touched a soccer ball, I’ve always liked it,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed playing and I just found it fun and cool.”

It didn’t surprise anyone that he enjoyed playing soccer as the sport runs in his blood. His sister and even his mom still play soccer, he says.

He joined Sunnyside’s varsity team during his sophomore year (he initially started at rival school Desert View) and says his favorite thing about being on the team is the people, whether that’s his lifelong friends or new players he’s come to know over the years.

O’Brien says it’s been easy to work with Bracamontes Pulido over the last three years.

“He loves the game. He loves his teammates, he’s a super unselfish player. It’s fun to have kids that are a superstar, that don’t even know that they’re a superstar,” he said. “Because he doesn’t really buy into that at all. He just wants to play. He wants to win, he wants to be successful. But he’s more happy for his teammates than himself. It’s really cool because a lot of times it’s not really like that, kids can be kind of self-involved a little bit, but he’s legitimately just playing.”

Last season, Bracamontes Pulido became the first solo Tucson-area student to receive the 6A Soccer Offensive Player of the Year award. The recognition was previously co-awarded to Tucson High soccer player Ismael Ruiz and a Mesa High School student for the 2022-23 season.

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The honor is a big deal, according to O’Brien, who has coached at Sunnyside for nearly a decade, because it’s usually given to students at Phoenix-area high schools.

He thinks Bracamontes Pulido has a good shot at winning the 6A conference Player of the Year award this year. The winner will be announced in the spring.

As his high school soccer career wraps up later this year, Bracamontes Pulido says he doesn’t feel sad about it. Instead, he says, he feels good.

“I want to experience something new in my next step in life,” he said.

His next stop after graduation is Phoenix College with hopes of eventually playing soccer at a larger university.

O’Brien thinks has a good chance of playing at the university level.

“Soccer-wise, he’s insanely intelligent, his IQ for soccer is off the charts,” O’Brien said. “And I don’t know if people really realize that because he doesn’t really talk that much and he definitely doesn’t talk about himself. So, I mean, his soccer IQ is insane, he can understand things so fast. In a game, he’s super competitive but doesn’t let it show that much, but he is very competitive. … And this year, he’s been super uplifting on our team. His positivity towards everybody has been awesome. I think it’s really been good because I’m a pretty hard coach and he’s super, super positive now this year. So, I think it’s like a really good balance of hard and positive at the same time.”

Even though soccer takes up a majority of Bracamontes Pulido’s time, he’s still a high schooler who likes to hang out with his family and go fishing in his free time. He says his favorite spots to fish are in Sahuarita, Arivaca and Patagonia.

He already has plans to go fishing during his time in Phoenix after graduating high school.

“I think he’s starting to realize that he has the talent to make it and he really wants it now,” O’Brien said. “And you could tell that he’s been working harder, he’s been more focused. He’s really been mature in the way that he’s approaching the game and his future. So, he just went from somebody that you really didn’t know what was going to happen with him in the next three, four years until now, it’s like, ‘Hey, I really think this kid has a bright future and he wants it and he’s excited about it.’ His mindset shifted quite a bit from just living in the moment to actually having a plan (for the future).”

Fast Five with Angel

Who’s your favorite soccer player?

Messi.

Who’s on your soccer dream team?

My current team, former Sunnyside soccer legends and Coach O’Brien as the head coach.

If you could play soccer at any stadium in the whole world, where would you want to play?

Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain.

What’s for dinner after a soccer game?

Either tacos, tortas, burritos, rice with fish or anything my mom makes. She can throw down (in the kitchen).

What’s your current favorite class?

My soccer practice class that includes a mixture of conditioning, lifting and training.