Playoff berth validates Sierra Vista’s gains
No magical overhaul or missing ingredient was needed to spark Sierra Vista’s boys soccer turnaround from a 6-9-3 season last year to a playoff berth.
All that was needed was just a little bit more from everybody, including eight returning starters.
“A lot of the players just got better,” senior midfielder Milan Popovic said. “Everyone’s gotten better technically, or a little faster.”
Sierra Vista (15-3) opens up the Sunset Region playoffs today as the Southwest League’s No. 2 seed, with a 4 p.m. matchup against Northwest power Palo Verde (12-4-1) at Faith Lutheran.
Also at Faith Lutheran, defending state champ Legacy (14-1-2) follows against Durango (7-7-4) at 6 p.m.
Clark (13-3-2) faces Centennial (15-3) at 4 p.m. at Arbor View, and Cimarron-Memorial (9-6-3) takes on Bishop Gorman (16-1-2) at 6.
In the Sunrise playoffs, Green Valley (10-4-1) plays Las Vegas High (14-3-1) at 4 p.m. at Rancho, and Desert Pines (8-5-3) faces Coronado (17-2) at 6.
Valley (11-5) goes up against Tech (14-3-1) at 4 p.m. at Valley, and Foothill (9-7-1) takes on Eldorado (15-2-1) at 6.
Popovic, who had 13 goals and 29 assists, credited the team’s regular-season success to its possession-oriented style.
“We always look for the best opportunity to score,” he said. “Take shots, but don’t take unecessary shots.
“The coaches always say, 'Don’t waste a chance, because you never know if you will get that chance the whole game.’ ”
Newcomer forward Miles McRae, a sophomore, has provided Sierra Vista with a scoring force in front of goal.
“Last year, we came into some games kind of looking for a loss,” said McRae, who leads the team with 20 goals. “But this year, we feel we have something good going. We come into games thinking we can beat anybody. We come focused.”
The Mountain Lions have outscored opponents 77-35, and only one of their three losses was by shutout.
The offensive firepower even surprised eighth-year coach Ryan Quinn.
“I could tell going through practice that the cohesion was good,” Quinn said. “But a lot of it was the new additions. Picking up Miles was huge; we’ve never had a traditional goal scorer, and he’s one of them. I expected us to have a better season than last year, competing for a playoff spot. But out of the gates, it surprised us as well.
“The amount of offensive firepower we had was a pleasant surprise.”
The roster also includes eight seniors, including Popovic and four-year starting defender and team captain Jorge Echavarria, giving the Mountain Lions strong leadership.
The seniors helped the team maintain on a singular focus all season.
“Our goal was to make the playoffs,” Echavarria said. “Since the beginning, our goal was to work hard for the playoffs. It gave us a purpose.”
With that goal met, Sierra Vista hopes to set another school milestone: winning the program’s first-ever playoff game. Getting past Palo Verde won’t be easy.
“We’re newbies on the scene, and not a traditional playoff-bound team,” Quinn said. “And we’re playing Palo Verde, which is. They’re a great team. It’s going to be a very good game. I know we’re the two-seed, but I feel like since we’re so new, we’re underdogs. We have a bunch of guys who have never been there before and Palo Verde has.”
