Phoenix South Mountain and Tucson Catalina Foothills never gave an indication in the first 30 minutes that the final 10 minutes of Wednesday’s first half would turn out the way it did.

At first, shots were hard to come by as each team diligently worked at opening offensive lanes. Then, out of nowhere, came the scoring burst that broke this Division II first round boys soccer match open.

But even after South Mountain was awarded its first goal as a result of an own goal, nobody could’ve foreshadowed what happened next. It took South Mountain less than three minutes to score three goals against a team that didn’t give an inch at first.

South Mountain added another goal early in the second half to help it rout a Catalina Foothills team that was considered a state title favorite this year. The 5-1 win at home gave legitimacy to the No. 1 state seed South Mountain was awarded in the D-II boys state tournament.

This wasn’t the first time that an opponent witnessed the quick-strike potential of South Mountain. Phoenix Carl Hayden also recently fell victim to a three goal burst from South Mountain.

“You just get into a rhythm and everything just starts falling into place and one (goals) falls right after the other,” South Mountain coach Carlos Aguilera said. “It has a lot to do with practice.”

The own goal likely gave South Mountain some confidence in its matchup against a tall opponent.

Since South Mountain (15-2) couldn’t crack its opponent’s four-man back line in the beginning, junior midfielder Miguel Cruz decided to take a shot from long distance in the 31^st minute. The gamble paid off, because the ball hit a defender first before it rolled in.

About five minutes later, South Mountain and its workhorse, senior Yabin Cruz, took control of the match. Cruz scored twice and set up another goal from the 4:37 to 1:41 mark of the first half.

The senior forward capped his night with a hat trick, scoring his third goal four minutes into the second half. For the season, Cruz is at 39 goals.

“They (South Mountain) have a good counter attack and play with a lot of precision,” Catalina Foothills coach Julie Walters said. “They are a very disciplined and effective team.”

South Mountain advanced to the second round of a state tournament for the first time in a long time and will face No. 8 seed Queen Creek on Saturday at home with a trip to the state semifinals at stake.