Reid Hukari was watching history repeat itself at Lakewood Memorial Field on Thursday Sept. 25, and felt helpless to stop it.
Less than a week after Hukari and his teammates on the Wheat Ridge soccer team surrendered the tying goal with under a minute to play in regulation to Evergreen, a similar situation was unfolding in the Farmers battle with Alameda.
Wheat Ridge held a 3-2 advantage as the game neared its conclusion, but a foul in the Farmers’ goal box awarded the Pirates a penalty kick with 29 seconds remaining.
Fortunately for Hukari and his teammates, fate was on Wheat Ridge’s side. Dejan Panic’s attempt sailed high, allowing the Farmers (7-2-1, 3-1-1 in Class 4A Jeffco League) to escape with a crucial conference victory.
“We figured we had the game wrapped up until the very end,” said Hukari, a junior who scored a pair of goals for Wheat Ridge. “This had already happened to us against Evergreen. They came back in the last 20 seconds and scored a goal. We didn’t want that to happen again.”
Hukari did his best to try to make sure that it wouldn’t come down to a last second goal, as the 6-foot-4 midfielder was a dominant force on the pitch. He controlled the action in the middle of the field, quarterbacking the Farmers’ offensive attack while helping anchor the team’s defensive efforts.
After Alameda (7-2, 3-1) scored a goal in the first minute of play in the second half to tie the score at 2-2, Hukari notched the eventual game-winning goal less than two minutes later.
Alameda’s Cesar Alcocer matched Hukari’s effort. A senior midfielder, Alcocer got the Pirates off on the right foot, blocking a clearing attempt before sending a left-footed laser past Wheat Ridge keeper Alex Merrill 31 seconds into the contest.
“His first goal was a thing of beauty,” Alameda coach Steve Houwen said.
Despite the loss, Houwen said the game could go a long way to building his team’s confidence through the remainder of the season.
“I’ve been (at Alameda) 11 years, and we’ve only made the playoffs twice,” Houwen said. “The Wheat Ridge coaches made the comment that we’re valid. And that’s what these guys need to hear. They’re the real deal.”