On a night when one of Sunnyside’s top players, sophomore midfielder Pedro Vega had a career-high five goals and three assists, the spotlight on the Blue Devils’ No. 1 team in the Open Division shined in many other places Friday night.
The defense limited Rincon/University to limited shots on goal (seven) with goaltender Marc Urrea-Salinas making some higlight saves to prevent the Rangers from scoring in the 7-0 victory at Sunnyside.
Senior Night was celebrated on Sunnyside’s last regular-season home game with six seniors, including inspirational leader Jibram “Pancho” Buelna. A health issue that will require a medical procedure this week did not stop Buelna from playing a considerable amount of time Friday as a forward.
“It was the best day of my life,” Buelna said.
Jibram “Pancho” Buelna, a forward, was one of six seniors honored on No. 1 Sunnyside’s Senior Night tonight. The others are midfielder Aron Ayala, and defenders Marcos Bustamante, Maico Parra, Elias Clark, and Carlos Hernandez. Pancho has persevered through health issues and is… pic.twitter.com/LIiUjssHcJ
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) February 7, 2026
The Blue Devils’ talent, coaching of veteran Casey O’Brien and his staff, the togetherness of the team highlighted by Buelna’s impact, and the community feel of the program with parents and families attending games in throngs will make Sunnyside formidable in the postseason.
“We have a much different atmosphere on our team this year,” O’Brien said.
Sunnyside (19-1-2) will begin play in the Open Division on Wednesday at home at 6 p.m. against an opponent to be determined.
The Blue Devils will pursue their second state title, first since 2019.
O’Brien eclipsed 200 career victories this season and is at 205-39-10 in his 10th season as head coach.
“I feel like we deserve No. 1 (in the Open Division),” O’Brien said. “I don’t say that very often, but we put ourselves through a tough off-season schedule, especially our tournament schedule was tough this year.
“We’ve faced a lot of good teams. We’ve found a way to win in pretty much every game, except for one (a 3-2 loss against Ironwood Ridge in the second game of the season). I think we deserve it. I think we’re going to prove it this year that everybody coming to Sunnyside, it’s going to be tough to come here and beat us.”
Sunnyside may not have to travel to the Phoenix area in the postseason, a significant advantage.
As the potential No. 1 seed (the bracket will be announced Saturday morning), the Blue Devils could have four straight home games through the semifinal round.
Moreover, if another Southern Arizona team is in a potential championship game with Sunnyside — a strong possibility — the venue will switch from Mesa High School to a local field.
Heading into Friday’s games, Sunnyside was No. 1 in the Open Division, Catalina Foothills (18-0-3) was No. 2 and Mica Mountain (14-3) was No. 3.
“I wish we could have played Catalina Foothills in the regular season, to be honest with you,” said O’Brien, whose team gave Mica Mountain two of its three losses. “Honestly, it just shows that this year Tucson soccer is super competitive. Phoenix is having a tough time. They are on a little bit more of a down year.
“It just shows that Tucson can have years that we can be the best teams in the state. It doesn’t always have to be dominated by Phoenix.”
No. 1 Sunnyside is primed for the Open Division playoffs under veteran coach Casey O’Brien. Everything clicked tonight in the regular-season finale against a good Rincon/UHS team in a 7-0 victory. Sophomore midfielder Pedro Vega netted five goals and had a couple of assists,… pic.twitter.com/snCYlh4cKR
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) February 7, 2026
O’Brien added that the club soccer scene in Tucson has a lot to do with the high ranking of local teams in the state and that programs such as his are year-round operations.
In the win over Rincon/University, Vega set the tone early with a goal five minutes into the game and a hat trick by the 29-minute mark that increased Sunnyside’s lead to 4-0.
Vega now has 26 goals (ranking 12th in the state) and 10 assists, giving him 62 points (10th in the state) in his first full varsity season.
“He’s young and has been with us only a year and a half, so he came from a different style of soccer and he’s really bought into the style we play, the way we play,” O’Brien said of Vega, who comes from Nogales, where he was accustomed to waiting for passes by raising his hand instead of actively getting free and trusting his teammates to find him.
“Every single game, he’s gotten better. I appreciate that his attitude has been really good lately. He’s wanting to get better and work hard for the team. He’s really hard to defend. He’s played multiple positions for us this year, which I really love guys willing to do that and he’s one of them. I appreciate him for being versatile. His goals and his assists speak for themselves that he’s dynamic.”
Michael Montesino, another sophomore, had a goal and four assists against Rincon/University, increasing his point total to 50.
Defender Maico Parra, one of the six seniors honored on Senior Night, showed his versatility with a goal and an assist.
Midfielder Aron Ayala, and defenders Marcos Bustamante, Elias Clark, and Carlos Hernandez were also celebrated on Senior Night.
O’Brien lauded the work of his veteran defenders and Urrea-Salinas in the net for achieving the 15th shut out of the season.
“We’ve given up four goals in the regular season (non-tournament games), four goals in 12 games — that’s a crazy mark to set,” said O’Brien, whose team has allowed only 10 goals in its 22 games overall.
“We’re so prideful in our defense. It’s cool because our defense starts in the middle of the field, and they’ve bought in. That’s what different about us this year. Everyone’s defending at a high level. We’re really hard to score on. In the playoffs, that’s what you need.”
Sunnyside has entered the postseason with high hopes in recent years but was unable to bring home the trophy. O’Brien senses something different about this year’s team.
“I feel great this year,” he said. “I love these kids. I love this team. I love our chemistry. I love our attitude.
“I have a different feeling going into this postseason. I’m really confident in these kids. They’re will to do whatever it takes to come out on top.”
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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