It was four days shy of one year since Quatama Massaquoi had scored for his Kansas Wesleyan team.
Last Wednesday Massaquoi took a long, perfectly placed pass from teammate Skyler Denny and headed it into the goal on a set piece in the 87th minute of the Coyotes' soccer match against Central Christian. The goal propelled KWU to a 2-1 victory on Bissell Field at JRI Hospitality Stadium and Graves Family Sports Complex.
The clutch effort was nothing new for Massaquoi who was in the limelight on Bissell Field 361 days earlier, albeit in a wholly different endeavor. Playing free safety for the football team, he thwarted a Bethany drive deep into KWU territory when he intercepted a pass and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter.
It extended the lead to 26-16 in a game Wesleyan won 54-16.
Massaquoi had a superb season finishing with 70 tackles, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and was named First Team All-Gene Bissell Division in his final year of football eligibility.
Fortunately for the soccer team Massaquoi wasn't finished with his classroom work and had a semester of competition remaining.
A conversation with coach Ryan Palmbaum in April sparked the notion of joining the team. After pondering it further this summer Massaquoi decided to give it a shot.
"Over the summer I'm like, 'should I still do it?'" he said. "I hit (Palmbaum) up in another email, and we got on a call, and we made it happen."
The decision was aided by Massaquoi's fond memories of playing soccer as a youngster in Pittsburg, California. He started playing the game in the first grade and twice earned all-conference honors while playing for Pittsburg High School for four seasons.
"Honestly, soccer is my first sport," he said.
Massaquoi played soccer and football at PHS but decided to focus on football in college, first at Los Medanos College in his hometown for two years then two more years at Wesleyan.
Walking onto the pitch was easy. Getting in playing shape and adjusting to the elevated competition at the college level was another matter.
"Endurance was my problem, especially in preseason. I was just gassed," he said. "Everybody's constantly moving; I'm over there, hands on knees. It was kind of hard over summer trying to get conditioned because you're better off to get endurance while playing with others. I was running a lot of miles, and it didn't really correlate.
"But we got to the conditioning test and I kind of surprised myself. Luckily, it wasn't hot that day."
Palmbaum, who replaced his father Bruce as KWU's head coach in February, said Massaquoi could try out for the team with no promises. They had established a California bond - Palmbaum is from Sacramento which is about an hour from Pittsburg.
"I saw something in him," Palmbaum said. "He was willing to do whatever it took to be on the team and for me that's really important because a lot of guys who grow up playing the sport sort of feel entitled to a spot. For him he was just grateful for a spot, and I think that really shows on the field. "
It didn't take long for Massaquoi's temporary status to evaporate.
"We were on a trial basis and after two days I said, 'don't worry about the tryout, you're on the team,'" Palmbaum said.
Massaquoi's athleticism is what separates him from many others. Playing football didn't hurt.
"He's a freak athlete," Palmbaum said. "He is what everyone strives to be athletically. He's low to the ground, great change of direction, great speed. A lot of his success comes from his mentality to never back out of a challenge, never back out of a header, never back out of chasing down a ball that other people might not get to, and he does. In his mind it's 'I'm going to go no matter what.' I wish every single player had that mentality."
Speed is Massaquoi's greatest attribute.
"He's one of the fastest guys in the (Kansas) Conference," Palmbaum said. "Q is the center point to our press, and he wins the ball back. His defensive ability from the striker position is unmatched by anyone on our team and anyone in the conference."
Massaquoi began the summer weighing 185 but is down to 171 thanks to conditioning. Now it's a matter of learning the college game.
"I feel like right now it's more understanding the IQ of the game rather than ball work and stuff like that," he said. "Ball work is always going to be there; it's how to play with a team again because it's been so long since I've played organized soccer. But game by game, week by week every practice is getting a little easier where I understand my role and my part on the team."
The bicycle analogy is in play as well.
"If you've got good feet, you'll never forget how to play soccer," he said.
Massaquoi announced his arrival in KWU's opening match when he scored in a 7-0 victory over Central Christian College of the Bible.
"The first game was honestly a fever dream," he said. "I was trying to shoot a lot, I had a lot of shots with one goal, so I was kind of relieved to finally have that goal in the first game."
His second goal was pivotal.
"I got a good ball from Skyler," he said. "I was just tracking it and trying to get my head on it and saw in go in. I wanted to go celebrate, it felt amazing. That's a feeling for sure."
Massaquoi relishes how he has been accepted by his teammates.
"I'm so grateful that everybody was open arms for me to come in," he said. "I was very appreciative. There's no selfishness within the team; it's all family oriented."
"We have such a good group of guys that do welcome all different walks of life, sports, people, nationalities, anything," Palmbaum said. "I think on paper at face value you say a football player is going to come in and be on varsity for the soccer team and some eyebrows might get raised. But everyone was super open to it and ready.