Alex Espinoza didn't play soccer at Wasatch as a freshman. Instead, he chose to focus on his club team. But when he signed up this spring, he was so confident in his skills that when he examined the school records coach Dawain Wheatley had carefully culled over 20 years, he immediately knew where his name would be one day.

Part-way through the season, the electrifying sophomore midfielder went to Wheatley and said, "I want to break the record."

The scoring record, Wheatley thought. But Espinoza had a different one in mind: the school's single season assists record.

Turns out, Espinoza broke both, scoring 21 goals and assisting on 19 more. He led the Wasps to their first state championship and became The Tribune's 3A MVP.

All from a guy who didn't play as a freshman.

"Nobody knew who I was until they saw me play," Espinoza said. He had an immediate impact, scoring in Wasatch's second game, its only loss, 3-2 against Desert Hills in St. George. Espinoza became one of the state's most recognizable players, if not for his skill, then for his bouncing black hair.

"He's got a big head just because of his hair, not because of his cockiness," Wheatley said.

The bounce was on special display May 14 at Rio Tinto Stadium. In the 64th minute of the 3A championship game, Espinonza beat the Soaring Eagle's goalkeeper to a through ball from midfielder Domey Espinoza — no relation — and punched it into the net. There was no unnecessary dribbling. No hesitation.

"A lot of players shoot on goal," Wheatley said. "Alex finishes on goal."

The Wasps went on to win 1-0. That, of course, came as no surprise to Espinoza.

"Right as I saw the ball hit the net," he said, "I was like, 'This is it, this is the first and last goal, that is going to win the state championship.' "

boram@sltrib.com

Twitter: @oramb —

The teams

All-State boys' soccer teams (pdf) • http://bit.ly/jet5Hd

All-State boys' soccer MVPs (pdf) • http://bit.ly/m52R7I

Class 3A first team

MVP: Alex Espinoza, Soph., Forward, Wasatch

Midfielder, Skyler Doran, Sr., Juan Diego

Midfielder, Jorge Lemus, Sr., Bear River

Midfielder, Patrick Hickman, Sr., Judge Memorial

Midfielder, Anthony Alcox, Sr., Park City

Midfielder, Victor Galindo, Fr., Ben Lomond

Midfielder, Kyle Kinman, Sr., Desert Hills

Forward, Dayvin Palmer, Sr., Desert Hills

Forward, Emmanel Hurtado, Jr., Juan Diego

Forward, Adam Richardson, Jr., Juan Diego

Forward, Jackson Cheal, Jr., Wasatch

Defender, Collin Hopkins, Sr., Wasatch

Defender, Isaiah Garcia, Sr., Juan Diego

Defender, Bobby Sullivan, Sr., Juan Diego

Defender, Justin Gooch, Sr., Desert Hills

Goalkeeper, Du Nguyen, Sr., Juan Diego

Goalkeeper, Cooper Hall, Jr., Wasatch

Class 3A second team

Midfielder, Devon Hall, Sr., Wasatch

Midfielder, Daniel Ramirez, Sr., Juan Diego

Midfielder, Jesse Katzenbach, Jr., Hurricane

Midfielder, Kendall Burgener, Sr., Desert Hills

Midfielder, Jace Abbott, Sr., Delta

Midfielder, Luca Guidetii, Sr., Union

Forward, Ross Terrill, Sr., Judge Memorial

Forward, Daniel Chavez, Sr., Manti

Forward, Jorge Mendiola, Soph, Carbon

Forward, Riley Steed, Sr., Bear River

Defender, Mike Brown, Sr., Wasatch

Defender, Dan Goodman, Sr., Judge Memorial

Defender, Kelton Chapman, Sr., Delta

Defender, Patrick Gibbs, Sr., Judge Memorial

Goalkeeper, Gustavo Morales, Jr., Desert Hills

Goalkeeper, Brady Payne, Jr., Delta