Late goal pushes Sunrise Mountain to 4A boys soccer state title
The Class 4A boys soccer state championship game appeared to be headed for overtime Saturday, until opportunity presented itself.
Dylan Acosta was in the right place at the right time and scored the winning goal late in the second half to help Sunrise Mountain defeat SLAM! Nevada 1-0 at Spring Valley.
It was the third state championship for the Miners (16-2-4), the No. 1 seed from the Lake League, with their first coming in 2018.
“We worked very hard this year,” said Sunrise Mountain coach Musio Jimenez, whose squad held off a barrage of potential game-tying goals in the final three minutes. “I’ve been telling some of these kids since their freshman year, ‘You’ve just got to be patient.’”
Acosta did not have time to hesitate when fate called on him.
The ball wound up directly in front of him after being cleared from a scrum about 30 yards away from SLAM! Nevada’s goal. Bulls goalkeeper Evan Arroyo was caught out of position, helping Acosta score from 12 yards out.
“It all happened so quick,” said Acosta, a senior. “I just shot it and boom, it was in the back of the net.”
The goal sent Sunrise Mountain fans into a frenzy. The team then settled into defensive mode, which was not part of the game plan.
“I told them not to do that,” Jimenez said. “I told them to play how they had been playing the whole game.”
SLAM! Nevada (23-2-1), the No. 1 seed from the Desert League, responded with a flurry of shots on goal. They had four attempts that looked to be heading into the net until a Sunrise Mountain player made a key deflection.
Two of those deflections came from Miners goalkeeper Arnulfo Perez. He tipped a shot over the crossbar with two minutes remaining in regulation, then batted away a shot headed straight for the net with 10 seconds left.
“Arnulfo put in a lot of work,” Jimenez said. “And it showed today in the plays he made.”
Jimenez said the victory was a significant step for his program.
“This just feels great,” he said. “Everyone has supported us — even the teachers — and they’ve given us the attention we should be getting. We’re building something here that will make more young kids want to come out and play here.”
3A
No. 1N South Tahoe 4, No. 2N Truckee 1: At Cristo Rey, the Vikings (16-3-3) erupted for three second-half goals to beat the Wolverines (15-3-1) for the title.
Girls soccer
Class 3A
South Tahoe 1, North Tahoe 0: At Cristo Rey, the Vikings (21-3-3) scored a second-half goal to beat the Lakers (17-5-1) for the state championship.
Contact Jeff Wollard at jwollard@reviewjournal.com.
