Meet Mr. Clutch: Jack Teske, The Oct. 25 ASPIRE Athlete Of The Week
APPLE VALLEY, Minn. (WCCO) -- Eastview is the defending state champ in boys soccer.
And they're in the state semifinals this year.
But neither of those things would be true if it weren't for this week's ASPIRE Athlete of the Week – Jack Teske.
Jack Teske has scored only about a half-dozen goals in the last two years.
"Doesn't score superstar goals or get superstar stats, but he is a clutch player," coach Scott Gustafson said.
Exactly how clutch is almost impossible to believe.
"Kind of ironic how it happened," he said.
Back on Oct. 16, 2012 Eastview was in the section title game against Apple Valley.
"I made about a 40-yard run, on the back side, the ball was there," Teske said. "And so I just hit it. I was kind of leaning over, saw it go in, and then I was happy."
With less than 10 minutes to play, it was the game-winner and sent the Lightning to state.
"Jack is what we affectionately call a glue player -- he helps hold the team together," Gustafson said.
Fast forward to last Tuesday, this year's section finals against Eagan.
"It was back and forth, kind of like ping pong, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2," he said. "And then, same thing, six minutes left, I was up top, and I saw the ball bouncing around the top of the box. And I just decided you know, hit it, see what you can do, and luckily, it went in."
For the second year in a row, the guy who rarely scores had tallied the game-winner with less than 10 minutes to play to send his team to state.
"Actually before the game, I was thinking, how crazy would that be if that were to happen again," he said.
And that wasn't it.
On Thursday night Teske did it again, helping Eastview win in overtime in the opening round of the state tournament.
Teske also has a 3.5 GPA, and spends time volunteering with Eastview's youth soccer program.
