Western boys knock off previously unbeaten Sunrise Mountain

Western’s Gustavo Sanchez had just one thought on his mind going into the Warriors’ soccer match against Sunrise Mountain on Monday afternoon.

“Redemption,” the junior midfielder said.

He paused for a brief moment, then added: “We don’t like losing.”

Sanchez scored two goals, including the winner with two minutes remaining, to help Western avenge an early-season Sunset League loss and grab momentum heading into next week’s Class 3A Southern Region playoffs with a 2-1 home win over previously unbeaten Sunrise Mountain.

“That team’s good,” Sanchez said. “Undefeated, and we were the only ones that could stop them. … This actually does a lot (going into playoffs). It motivates us and gives us a good vibe of making it to the regional and state finals.”

Late in the second half, Sanchez took a pass from teammate Elizandro Zaragoza just past the center circle, drove 25 yards down the middle of the field with defenders on his back and sent a left-footed shot beyond the fingertips of Sunrise Mountain goalkeeper Marcos Plata. The shot dinged off the right post before rolling to the back of the net.

“I hit the ball and I was like, ‘I got to make it,’ ” said Sanchez, who also scored the match’s first goal in the 15th minute. “That’s my weak foot, too.”

The second goal prompted Sunrise Mountain coach Patrick Mohrbacher to leave an open net — bringing Plata to the opposite side of the field for the Miners’ last offensive possession — and yell “Go for it!”

But the defense held tough the rest of the way for Western (15-3-2, 9-2-0), which avenged a 3-0 loss to Sunrise Mountain (14-1, 10-1) on Sept. 27.

Sunrise Mountain’s Angel Arreola tied the game 30 seconds before halftime with a penalty kick.

The Miners finished with five shot attempts, while Western took 13.

Warriors coach Kory Pippin credited his team’s all-around play Monday, and estimated that he and his players watched film of the first Sunrise Mountain game “like 34 times” to prepare for the rematch.

“We just said we were going to use it as a lesson in watching the best team,” Pippin said. “It was, ‘Right now, we’re not the best team. So let’s watch who is, and see how we can combat them or what we can do to get better than them.’ ”

They took notes, and now they might be the best.

Contact reporter Ashton Ferguson at aferguson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430. Follow @af_ferguson on Twitter.