TCA beats St. Mary's 4-2 in rematch of last year's 3A championship game

Peter Tonsits is well aware of the cliche saying speed kills. Fast as he is, he should be.

The Classical Academy outside midfielder scored twice, including the game-winner, and earned a penalty kick because of that speed, as Pikes Peak 3A No. 1 TCA defeated No. 2 St. Mary’s 4-2 on Saturday at TCA.

Tonsits’ first goal was going in whether he wanted it to or not. Daniel Carlson blasted a free kick from 40 yards that ricocheted off Tonsits and into the goal to put the Titans (7-0) up for good 3-1 over the defending 3A state champions. It was the Carlson-to-Tonsits connection again for the 4-1 lead. Tonsits outraced the Pirates defense to Carlson’s header, tapping it in for the goal.

“(My speed) was pretty deadly,” said Tonsits, who set up TCA’s first goal when he was taken down in the St. Mary’s box in the first period. “We were moving off the ball so quick that they didn’t know where we were going. That’s what we’ve been working on all week.”

Both of Tonsits’ goals came in the second half on free kicks. TCA being awarded a free kick became a common theme in the second half, as the Pirates (2-3) were uncharacteristically undisciplined. The Pirates committed 16 fouls in the second half alone.

“I think we definitely lost a little bit of focus,” said Pirates captain Joe Morales, who scored the final St. Mary’s goal on an absolutely brilliant individual effort. “We had a little battle with the refs and I think that almost overtook us.”

Seeing his Pirates break down after falling behind 3-1 is something St. Mary’s coach Lou Sagastume is trying to change.

“It’s one of the things we are struggling with, is when we get scored on we’ve got to push harder rather than the other way around," Sagastume said.

TCA won the regular-season matchup between the two teams a season ago, but the Pirates won the rematch in the title game.

“We like to say, ‘We like to peak at the right time,’” Morales said.

While the win was nice on Saturday, Tonsits knows that it won’t mean much should the two teams meet in the playoffs.

“They’re a good team, we just had a good night,” Tonsits said. “If we played them tomorrow the score would be completely different.”