Albuquerque Academy beats St. Pius in shootout to claim 4A boys soccer title

As Alex Jackson stepped up for what could potentially be the decisive penalty kick in a marathon Class 4A championship game, he called upon a technique he learned exactly for these types of moments.

“Our coach calls it box breathing,” he said. “Just something she learned in the military where it’s four breaths in, hold it for four seconds, go out for four seconds, and then don’t breathe for four seconds. So that helps calm your nerves.”

And with that, Jackson fired a shot past St. Pius keeper Frank Barela to propel No. 2 Albuquerque Academy (19-3-1) to a 6-5 shootout victory over the top-seeded Sartans (19-4) in the Class 4A final at the UNM Soccer Complex on Saturday afternoon.

In the immediate aftermath of the victory, Jackson credited Academy coach Laney Kolek’s technique for doing its job. But it also didn’t hurt that the Chargers senior picked an opportune moment to alter his typical penalty kick routine.

“I normally go left on almost all my (penalty kicks),” Jackson said. “But at the last second, I saw Frank, the other keeper, go left, and I just switched it last minute, basically.”

Added Kolek: “We’ve been practicing (penalty kicks) for the last couple of weeks, and you can never emulate the pressure of the moment… You could tell he had the confidence when he stepped to the line and just hit a beautiful, beautiful finish.”

Jackson wasn’t the only one to make a change during the shootout, as Kolek subbed out starting keeper Zach Sena in favor of Ethan Varley at the conclusion of the second overtime. While Sena turned away a number of St. Pius scoring opportunities during the game, it was a move that paid dividends.

“Know your personnel,” Kolek said. “You know which ones can come up in big moments and are better in those crucial moments. And Varley was the guy that could make those fast, quick saves, and Zach held the whole entire match down making huge saves. So, it was coming down to knowing the personnel and what they could do in particular moments and sealing the deal for the game.”

Varley admitted it was the most pressure he has ever felt, but he proved to be more than up to the task.

“For me, it’s all about mind games and beating the shooter,” Varley said. “So just staying in touch with what the shooter’s body language is, when the eyes are looking — just beating them.”

It’s the 11th blue trophy for the Academy boys and sixth with Kolek as head coach. In a matchup of the two most accomplished programs in Class 4A — St. Pius has 18 championships — regulation and two overtime periods weren’t enough to determine a clear winner.

“This game was everything it was billed to be,” Kolek said. “And, what more could you want? St. Pius-Albuquerque Academy final going down to double overtime and PKs. I’m just proud that my boys came up big in big moments and held this game. It was back-and-forth both ways. And I really couldn’t (have scripted) a better state final, honestly.”

Freshman Cruz Tomori scored both goals in regulation for the Chargers, the second of which tied the game at 2-2 in the 61st minute. Nico Reyes and Landon Mileshosky provided the goals for the Sartans in a game that saw both teams adopt aggressive, attacking approaches.

Saturday marked the fourth time in the last five years that the Class 4A final needed extra time. Just one year prior, St. Pius claimed its first trophy since 2008 with an OT triumph over Hope Christian. The Sartans came painfully close to winning back-to-back championships under coach A.J. Herrera, but they were unable to convert on their final two opportunities during the shootout.

“We knew it was gonna be a battle, and it doesn’t surprise me that it came down to penalty kicks,” Herrera said. “We’re just proud of our guys. They worked their butts off this season. They had a phenomenal year. Obviously, we’re really taking this one hard because of the year we had.”

Photos from the 4A/5A state soccer championships: Feel the emotion