Against Burnsville, Marlon Seahorn Jr. had missed a penalty kick that could have tied the all-time scoring record for Bloomington Kennedy boys soccer.

That was uncharacteristic of the Eagles forward, who later lined up outside of the 18-yard box, standing over a free kick. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

This time, Seahorn buried a long-range strike into the far post. After his teammates swarmed him, he celebrated by putting up both hands, for “55.” It was both the number of the program’s new career goals record and the amount of years the old mark had stood.

And better yet, it was an easy palm-out invite for high-fives from the other Eagles players.

“I mean, God wanted it to be that moment,” Seahorn said. “It’s still hard to describe, man. … Just really glad to celebrate it with childhood friends.”

The senior gave the Eagles plenty of reasons to celebrate this fall, and now another. Seahorn is Strib Varsity’s All-Minnesota Player of the Year in boys soccer.

The Tri-Metro Conference Player of the Year’s 38 goals and 16 assists led Bloomington Kennedy to its best regular season in nearly two decades. The Eagles lost only once, to Holy Angels, in a 4-1 regular-season finale that determined which team took the conference title.

That standout season ended sooner than the Eagles — 1981 state champions who haven’t returned to the big dance since 1994 — would have liked. They lost to Armstrong 3-2 in their Class 3A section tournament.

But Seahorn, who scored in every game this fall, was glad to be on the field, even in those final moments. He had been forced to exit last year’s section semifinal loss to Minneapolis Washburn after partially tearing his meniscus and MCL.

He opted to rehab the slight tear rather than get surgery, swapping some of his usual winter basketball season for physical therapy. By the time his senior soccer season approached, it wasn’t his leg that was forcing him out of his comfort zone; it was captaincy.

“I’m honestly kind of on the quiet side, kind of just observe a lot,” said Seahorn, who ended up leading many of the Eagles’ pregame huddles. “I was just preparing myself to have a bigger role … that I have people looking up to me.”

Seahorn was the first in his family to play soccer, a self-described “outside kid” introduced to the sport by his Bloomington neighbors, including several Eagles teammates.

If he was going to be outside, he was going to be playing soccer. And if he was going to be playing soccer, he wanted to be the best player on his elementary school’s playground.

That’s where his skills and speed caught the eye of a school employee who coached youth soccer and asked Seahorn if he had his dad’s phone number memorized. He did. That call pulled Seahorn into the world of club soccer, where he’s since played against adults on semipro summer teams and helped his Manitou FC squad earn a spot in Major League Soccer’s MLS Next league.

Kennedy coach Brayan Lopez said Seahorn’s speed, well-timed runs and well-placed finishing have earned him Division I interest. His goal is to continue playing at the collegiate level.

“He’s unbelievably just super fast and quick,” Lopez said. “At any position, especially as a forward, in the channels or in the flanks, if he’s in a one-on-one situation, he’s very, very dangerous.”

Seahorn’s stats are impressive, of course. But Lopez recalled multiple penalty kicks that Seahorn earned by drawing a foul, then passed off to other senior teammates to take and score.

“What truly sets him apart … is the kind of teammate he is,“ Lopez said. ”He is always willing to put the team first."