On September 8, the varsity boys soccer team closed out the APS Metro Tournament against Albuquerque High School.
The beginning of the season had featured some good starts and some very poor ones for Academy. The team was eager to start this last game of the tournament on the right foot. They did that in style when Maks Giermakowski ’25 won the ball deep in his own half two minutes in, turned, and threaded a long through ball along the entire AHS team to a breaking Luke Babinski ’24. Babinskiraced down the field, expertly cut behind the last defender, and slotted the ball past the keeper. 1-0. Six minutes later, Grady Gilchrist ’25 stole the ball from a defender and beat the keeper far post. 2-0. After that the teams settled into a back and forth affair, but as time wound down in the first half, Luke fed Grady for one last goal. 3-0.
This year’s team is an unusual mix. They are young but they are also experienced at the varsity level. Last year, the team included ten sophomores and six ninth graders. With so many returning younger players this year, the roster is deep and allows Coach Kolek to substitute liberally. In the first few games of the season, it has been noticeable as opposing teams run out of gas as they face wave after wave of fresh-legged substitutes.
In the last twenty minutes of the game AHS faltered and Academy scored four more goals as every player on the roster—including keeper Zach Sena ’25 who moved out from behind the goalpost while Alex Saiz ’26 manned the sticks—saw field time. First, Alex Jackson ’25 stole a pass out of the back and beat the keeper. Then AJ Pederson ’25, playing wing instead of his usual central defender role, pounced on a cross from Peter Jakiche ’25. Then Jackson stole another poor clearance and cheekily chipped the keeper from thirty yards. And as time expired, Rio Chavez ’26 finished a cross from Gilchristfrom in close. 7-0.
A definitive win against a frequent nemesis was a worthy way for Coach Kolek to earn her 200th career victory as head coach of the Albuquerque Academy boys varsity. Just five games into her thirteenth season, Kolek has a record of 200-51-8, good for a 78% win rate. In her twelve full seasons, the team has been to the state finals eight times with five victories. She has been named the Western Region Coach of the Year twice by the United Soccer Coaches Association of America. In the 2015 season, her team finished the year ranked 12th in the nation.
The boys had their first home game of the season as the Academy Tournament started on Thursday September 14 at 2:00 pm against Piedra Vista at Richard Harper Memorial Field, which they won. Details on that and other matches coming soon.