COLORADO SPRINGS — As the lights still shone down on Weidner Field, nearly three hours after the start of the Class 5A boys soccer state championship on Saturday night, Broomfield head coach Zach Hindman tearfully embraced his predecessor in the first row of the stands.
Jim Davidson, who coached the Eagles for decades before retiring last year, owned all eight of the school’s state championships.
Until now.
The bright lights only served to further illuminate Hindman, junior goalkeeper Evan Kulstad and senior Marcus Von, who helped propel the Eagles to victory over the Angels. After a 1-1 score and two overtimes sent the contest into penalties, Broomfield made all four of the penalty kicks they were afforded after Kulstad stopped Denver East on two shots. The Eagles didn’t need to take a fifth.
“It’s just euphoric. I feel so happy for the boys,” Hindman said. “We stood on the shoulders of giants and I think the guys dug in and decided that they were going to embrace that. They did it, and they dug deep through adversity again.”
In a game with no shortage of excitement, Von struck first with a jaw-dropping bicycle kick in the 58th minute, stunning even his coach. The Angels immediately responded, only two minutes later, with a free kick to even the game back up and force what would eventually turn into two overtimes and PKs.
Von, once again, almost avoided that fate. Almost.
The officials awarded Broomfield a penalty kick in the 105th minute. That job belonged only to one man. Von teed the ball up, swung, and sent the ball flying into the crossbar before it clanked back out.
Hindman said he’d never seen Von miss a PK “in my life.” A higher power, however, still smiled kindly on the imminent player of the year candidate.
“Before every single game, I pray and I say, ‘God if it be your will, help us to win,’” Von said. “‘If it be your will, let me score.’ To let me score a goal like that, it’s incredible.”
Kulstad answered the rest of that prayer.
Denver East keeper Liam Sloan, who had been a brick wall in the goal all night, faltered every single time a Broomfield shooter stepped up to the line through four rounds of PKs. Kulstad stopped the first Denver East attempt, although the ball very nearly rolled past the goal line, before the post mercifully redirected it.
Kulstad’s denial on Denver East’s fifth attempt sent his teammates and coaches sprinting toward the goal box in pure ecstasy. It was the first time in his career that he’d ever had to defend against PKs. No bystander would have possibly known.
“It’s surreal, and I love it,” Kulstad said. “I’m going to love this every single moment. This is the thing that I’m going to tell everyone that I meet. I’m over the moon right now.”
With one legacy in the rearview mirror, a new era began in Colorado Springs on Saturday night. Hindman could hardly have asked for a better debut on the state championship stage.
“That’s one of the most magical moments I’ve ever had as a coach,” Davidson said. “Seeing my protégé, Zach — one of my best friends — win a state championship and get us back, it’s just phenomenal.”
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