Soccer: Air Academy freshman provides punch in knockout

Geno Bigelow notched his second hat trick in a span of 10 days to push Air Academy to a dominating victory Thursday afternoon.

The freshman scored three goals in the first half to guide the Pikes Peak No. 3 Kadets over Sand Creek 3-0 in a 5A Metro clash.

Check out photos from the match.

“It was a good boost for us to start quickly and get some goals,” he said. “We had nice energy coming out, and we used it to put them away early.”

After heading in a ball off a Mark Dotseth free kick in the fourth minute, Bigelow knocked in a goal off the crossbar in the 14th minute. Five minutes later, he struck again on a long assist from Dotseth.

“Geno doesn’t play like a freshman — he has good touches on the ball and knows how to make great runs,” coach Espen Hosoien said. “He and Mark are so good at creating plays and scoring chances.”

The Kadets (8-2, 3-0) outshot the Scorpions (6-3-1, 1-2-0) nine to one and were able to clamp down on defense after getting the lead.

“Once a good team gets you down, it’s hard to get over the hump on offense,” Sand Creek coach Paul Strodtman said. “We tried to identify Bigelow on defense, but they had some nice passes to get him free.”

Although Bigelow scored the only goals, he understands how important his teammates are to his success.

“I give all the credit to Mark and my teammates,” said Bigelow, who also recorded three goals against Rampart in a 6-1 victory Sept. 22. “They do the hard work, and I just have to run the ball down and finish.”