Class 3A boys: 5 Miners score to give Sunrise Mountain first state title

When looking at Sunrise Mountain’s stats, it’s easy to see why its soccer team has been successful.

It has been the Bryan Martinez how, with the senior netting a Class 3A Southern Region-high 46 goals. But he didn’t score Saturday, and the Miners were champions anyway.

Five players scored for Sunrise Mountain, including three in the first half, and the Miners cruised to a 5-0 victory in the Class 3A state title game against Sparks at Spanish Springs.

“It definitely has not sunk in yet,” Sunrise Mountain coach Patrick Mohrbacher said. “WI think as we look back on the season in the coming weeks it will definitely sink in.”

Martinez was sick last night and almost didn’t play, but didn’t finish the game after receiving red card in the second half. It didn’t matter. Julian Herrera, Bryan Garcia-Miranda, Angel Arreola, Felipe Lucero and Joan Cisneros provided more than enough offense to give the Miners (20-1) their first state title.

Marcos Plata made two saves in the shutout against the Railroaders (18-7-1).

“Our offense is not Bryan Martinez, our offense is 11 guys,” Mohrbacher said. “We all contributed and showed we can win a state title without him.”

It was a nearly flawless season for the Miners, losing only once, a league game to Western. Last year they only lost once, but that came in the Class 3A Southern Region semifinals, so they didn’t even get a chance at state.

This year they won 20 games, and capped the best season in Sunrise Mountain history.

“We’ve been talking about since August, that nothing is better than a dream realized,” Mohrbacher said. “These guys worked so hard, and we came up with a goal, and we showed the state that I think we’re the best team.”