Mesa Westwood entered Tuesday’s championship game of the Arizona Holiday Extravaganza at Mesa against Sunnyside with a 14-0 record, and ranked No. 1 in Arizona and 36th nationally, according to MaxPreps.
Sunnyside was No. 3 in Arizona and 52 nationally.
The Blue Devils are now 11-1-1 after a 2-1 upset victory over Westwood. They claimed their third Arizona Holiday Extravaganza in the last five years.
Sunnyside coach Casey O’Brien called the Extravaganza, “the biggest soccer tournament in Arizona.”
“This is huge for our program because it’s all the best teams in Phoenix competing against each other,” O’Brien stated. “We beat a team ranked 36th in the country that’s won 14 games in a row. I think a lot of people assumed they would win.
“Our kids are young but they’re believing they can win against anyone.”
Sunnyside lost its top four scorers from a year ago to graduation.
The Blue Devils went 4-0-1 in the four-day event with wins over Westwood, Queen Creek Casteel, Phoenix Desert Vista and Chandler Basha and a 1-1 tie with Chandler Hamilton.
In the upset over Westwood, Israel Luquez scored a goal and assisted on another. He assisted Pedro Vega on the second goal. Brian Bacahui was also credited for an assist of Vega’s goal.
Vega, a sophomore, leads Sunnyside with 27 points (team-best 11 goals with five assists).
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