COLORADO SPRINGS — Simeon Woldeyohannes chose the perfect day to have a career first.
The Colorado Academy boys soccer player netted the Mustangs’ pair of goals in a span of 27 seconds to lead the Class 3A No. 1 seed to a 2-1 victory against No. 7 seed Peak to Peak at Weidner Field on Nov. 12.
“I’ve never scored two goals that fast in my life, especially at the championship level, but it was awesome,” Woldeyohannes said. “It’s a great feeling and I’m just so happy we ended up winning the game.”
The junior struck with 26:17 on the clock in the first half to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead.
Woldeyohannes bided his time as his teammate and Puma player became tangled as both attempted to gain possession.
After both players tumbled to the turf, the ball popped from their feet and an unguarded Woldeyohannes sprinted toward the ball.
He bolted past a defender and sniped a shot to the left corner of the net to make it 1-0.
“I got lucky and fortunate to get that flick in,” Woldeyohannes said. “I’m just so haply we were able to win the game.”
Before the Mustangs’ fan section returned to their frigid seats, Woldeyohannes connected on his second and final goal of the match.
“I was dribbling and coach told me to turn,” Woldeyohannes said. “My mom had been telling me to shoot the ball the whole game, and I did. I got fortunate that it went in.”
Peak to Peak got on the board 11 minutes later after Jorden Gyalsten hit a penalty kick to cut the lead to 2-1 with 14:40 left in the first half.
The Pumas had a few opportunities to tie the game, notably in the second half after Kyle Thengvall’s rocket of a shot hit the top crossbar and bounced toward Colorado Academy players.
However, Colorado Academy’s stingy defense kept the Peak to Peak at bay most of the contest.
Including their state title game tilt, Colorado Academy allowed just 10 goals in 20 games.
After a 3-0 loss on Sept. 10 to The Classical Academy, over the next 15 games, the Mustangs allowed just 6 goals.
“That game against TCA was a dip in the season for us,” said Colorado Academy coach Gabe Bernstein. “Over the course of the season we kept going back to training and back to what we do best, which is train hard. We addressed some of the issues we needed to work on, which was getting forward and being efficient with our attack. That came out in the first half and we jumped on opportunities.”
Bernstein dedicated Colorado Academy’s victory to Liberty Common’s Jay Lamastra.
Lamastra, a senior at Liberty Commons, suffered a “significant” head injury following their semifinal game.
Lamastra has remained hospitalized since their contest on Nov. 9.
“That was one of the most challenging games I’ve been apart of as a player or coach,” Bernstein said. “My heart goes out to everybody in the Liberty Commons community and specifically Jay and his family. They’re fighting something bigger than a game.”
