News & Politics

Arlington Kid Makes Insanely Cool Soccer Goal (Video)

Video's been making the rounds on Deadspin and other sports blogs

Watch below as 13-year-old Kenner Galeas bags a magnificent goal with a bicycle kick Sunday during his Arlington Soccer Association game at Thomas Jefferson Middle School. The video was picked up Tuesday by Deadspin and The Big Lead, and for good reason.

A successful bicycle kick goal doesn’t happen often. It’s one of those elusive sports moments, like hitting for the cycle or converting a 360 slam dunk. And Galeas nails it beautifully: back to goal, entire body airborne, perfect timing and, finally, a well-placed right-foot strike past the goalkeeper.

Then, the young defender for the U-14 Civitans Bengals casually trots back to midfield. Right, no big deal.

The Washington Post’s Tom Jackman spoke with Bengals coach Luis Alonso, who revealed Galeas recently arrived in Arlington from Honduras, which brings to mind DC United star Andy Najar. Najar also emigrated to Northern Viriginia from Honduras, and in April he decided to play for Los Catrachos instead of seeking a spot on the US national team.

Could we have the next Najar on our hands? Here's what Alonso told Jackman:

"He is a very solid, quick and aggressive player, but the ironic element to this story is that Kenner is a defenseman and this is the first time he has played forward. To further add to the irony, it is his brother Keysmer who is one of our star forwards and goal scorers. Due to a shortage in forwards for this game on Sunday, I put Kenner in as a forward, and clearly, it paid off big time."