On Saturday evening, the senior midfielder finished it the same way -- and he was a big reason why.
Two of his crosses set up goals that helped South put away West 3-0 in the Alaska School Activities Association boys state soccer championship at chilly and blustery Anchorage Football Stadium.
Tabares, who helped the Wolverines capture state titles during his freshman and sophomore seasons, was thrilled to leave high school with a third.
"Honestly I wanted the triple crown -- league, region and state," he said. "But state's the biggest thing in my book, so this is great."
The Cook Inlet Conference regular season title belonged to West and the CIC tournament title went to Dimond.
But Saturday was South's day, thanks to goals from sophomores Josh Carter and Grant Warnke and junior Aaron Brown.
West peppered goalkeeper Alex Toomey throughout the match, but he denied everything to earn the bagel.
"We're here because of him," Tabares said. "No joke."
The fifth-seeded Wolverines went into a shootout with Dimond in Friday's semifinal. Toomey stole the show, turning back Dimond's first three shots to give South the dramatic victory.
"We work hard, but that could have been the end of the road for us," Tabares said.
The road to the title match began during spring break, Tabares said. While many of their friends went out of state on vacation, the Wolverines practiced every day either at The Dome or at school.
Their coach, Mike Montgomery, held two-a-day practices; one from 8 a.m. to noon and another from 3-5 p.m.
"It's the drill sergeant in me," he explained.
None of the players liked it, Tabares admitted, but in the long run it was good for the team.
"We became a family and worked our butts off," he said. "Everyone hates (Montgomery), but hey, it pays off in the long run. He works us hard."
On Saturday, the Eagles set the tone early with three shots on goal within the first 30 minutes of play.
Their defense hadn't given up a shot on goal until the 33rd minute when Josh Carter turned a pretty cross from Tabares into a 1-0 South lead.
"I didn't think I was going to get it," said Carter, who collided with West defenseman Travis White. "But it popped out and I kicked it through."
West, playing short handed with its game-changer Luke Richards out with an injury in the first five minutes, kept putting pressure on South.
But the Wolverines picked apart the Eagles' defense in the 74th minute on the prettiest play of the match.
Tabares booted a cross to Tanner Smith, who almost lost the pass out of bounds. But Smith gained control and lofted a shot over the outstretched arms of West's freshman goalie Dylan Faber.
Grant Warnke sneaked in behind Faber and was there to spear Smith's ball into the net with his head for the 2-0 lead.
"One-nil wasn't that bad," West coach Laef Eggan said. "The second goal killed us."
The Eagles were going for their first state title since 1993, when Eggan was a senior on the team. Some said this was the year for West, which had a roster loaded with 12 seniors.
"I take my hat off to my boys," said Eggan, whose team finished 16-5-1 overall. "They played well all season."
The Wolverines, who finished 17-6-1, captured their fourth state title in five years.
Not bad for a school that's been open since the fall of 2004 and has never missed a state championship appearance.
Ready for the scary part?
The Wolverines are losing just seven seniors.
"We'll probably be better next year," Montgomery said.
Find Kevin Klott online at adn.com/contact/kklott or call 257-4335.
ASAA/First National Bank Alaska
2009 Boys Soccer State Championship
All-Tournament Team
Dylan Faber, West; Alex Toomey, South; Patrick Wolverton, Dimond; Aaron Badilla, Juneau; Paul Sliwa, Wasilla; Kisken Sawyer, West Valley; Logan Smith, Colony; Hunter Helin, West; Beazit Redzepi, West; Jaden McCarrey, South; Kyle Lee, Dimond; Grant Warnke, South; Aaron Sharrow, Wasilla; Andres Tabares, South.
Important warning about e-mails purporting to be from the adn.com staff.