RIVERSIDE, Mo. — Given the chance to take his pick, Joe Toigo didn’t select an expected goal as the highlight of Park Hill South’s 7-0 rout on Monday, Sept. 14.
Would the Panthers coach choose Nylo Clarke’s 28th minute bicycle kick that opened the scoring? Or Carson Cavitt-Wells’ rifling shot into the top right corner from the top of the box in the 67th minute? Perhaps it was Dan Geary, who provided another strong contender after finding the same part of the net from 27 yards out on a laser beam of a shot 4 minutes later — the game’s final tally?
None of those were the winner.
“(Tanner Alderson’s) was probably my favorite,” Toigo said. “I like when they get goals like that. It’s just the ball moving. The defense can never catch up, and eventually, it’s just a tap in.”
Alderson scored two goals at Park Hill District Soccer Complex, both on assists from Geary. His first in the 56th minute drew the biggest praise from the coach after a string of passes left the senior wide open on the back post. He finished with a simple tap in, putting the Panthers up 4-0.
Park Hill South led 2-0 at halftime, and Central actually created the best two chances to open the scoring.
Indians sophomore midfielder Gaige Wilson just missed the opening goal six minutes in but his shot slid just outside of Panthers goalkeeper Evan Morrow’s right-hand post. Ten minutes later, Zach Robb forced a save from Morrow — one of two for the senior, who got down well and forced the shot wide before scooping up the rebound.
“I saw the guy break through the defense,” Morrow said. “He was far away enough that I couldn’t get out to him. I just tried to make myself as big as possible, and luckily, he didn’t hit it as cleanly as he could have and I was able to make the stop to my right and recover it.”
Clarke finally broke the deadlock 12 minutes later.
Central goalkeeper Noah Cameron attempted to punch clear a corner kick but came up empty. The ball ricocheted off of the Clarke’s head and straight into the air. He went for his only option to put the ball on frame, and the bicycle kick off of his shin ping-ponged off a pair of Indians defenders on the goal line and into the net.
“It was the only possible way,” Clarke said. “A bike was the chance to score so that’s what I tried to do. Once I realized I scored, I was really excited. It’s a really cool goal. That’s No. 1 for sure right now (on my favorite goal list).”
Turner Hall, a junior midfielder, doubled the lead as the buzzer sounded for halftime. Josh Woods took a free kick with less than 10 seconds on the clock, and Cameron could not hold on to the shot. Hall poked home the rebound with 1 second officially on the clock.
Hall was involved in the opening of a five-goal salvo in the second half. He found Michael Pinella with a nice curling through ball and the senior finished nicely. Alderson scored the next two goals, and Cavitt-Wells and Geary provided the final two memorable goals.
“Those are fun,” Toigo said. “Those are pretty, but I told them to forget those. Otherwise they will be trying it every game, and it doesn’t work all the time. It doesn’t always work from 27 yards. Those were two pretty nice goals from Dan and Carson.”
Park Hill 3, St. Joseph Central 0
Nico Bosmediano just keeps adding to his highlight reel. For the second straight game, the Trojans junior midfielder wowed the crowd at Park Hill District Soccer Complex, this time scoring the capper against St. Joseph Central on Wednesday, Sept. 9. This goal came in the 70th minute at the end of a lengthy pass sequence for Park Hill.
Bosmediano took the ball on the left wing and dribbled back toward the middle before firing a shot from 22 yards out at the left edge of the box. The ball beat Cameron on the far side, bouncing in off the bottom of the crossbar.
A week earlier, Bosmediano gained regional fame for a 35-yard blast that resulted in the only goal of a 1-0 home win against Liberty North.
Park Hill led 2-0 at the break on goals from Stanton Heydinger and Christian Fullmer. Heydinger’s mark came in the 15th minute off of a free kick from Paulo Murguia, and Fullmer doubled the lead 10 minutes later, taking advantage of a bad clearance from Central.
Oak Park 1, Park Hill 0
The Northmen scored 12 minutes from full time on Monday, Sept. 14 in Kansas City, Mo.
Park Hill goalkeeper Peyton LaFerla made eight saves in the loss for a banged-up roster, according to coach Josh Marchbank. The Trojans dropped to 4-4 and sit at 1-0 in Suburban Conference Red Division play entering league matchups with Ruskin and Truman this week. Results of the game with Ruskin from Tuesday, Sept. 15 were not available at The Citizen’s deadline.
KA-MO Classic
Park Hill South claimed third place over the weekend, scoring twice early to beat Oak Park 2-1 on Saturday, Sept. 12 in Overland Park, Kan.
Ryan DiBernardo set up Tyler Pisoni for the opener in the eighth minute, and Daniel Geary added a penalty kick in the next minute to put the Panthers up 2-0. Oak Park drew a goal back in the 25th minute, but the score held from there with Morrow making five saves.
Park Hill South advanced into the championship side of the bracket with an 8-0 win in the first round against the hosts on Tuesday, Sept. 8. Cavitt-Wells, Alderson Tyler Pisoni scored two goals apiece, and Morrow and Noah Brizendine split the shutout for the Panthers against Blue Valley North.
In the semifinals, a fluke goal helped Shawnee Mission East force overtime, and the matchup went to penalty kicks after still being tied 2-2. The Lancers goalkeeper saved Park Hill South’s first penalty, and they went on to win the shootout, 5-4.
Park Hill South twice led by one goal.
Nylo Clarke put the Panthers ahead just before the end of the first half when Pisoni sprang the speedy midfielder on a breakaway. The score held until the 69th minute when Shawnee Mission East equalized off a corner kick.
DiBernardo scored what looked like the winner 4 minutes later on a passing sequence that ended with Cavitt-Wells and Hall. However, a long ball sent in from a Shawnee Mission East defender with 1:48 left on the clock, caromed off a Panthers defender and past Morrow for the tying goal.
Platte County 1, William Chrisman 0
The Pirates won back-to-back games for the first time on the season behind Baylor Cox’s goal in the first half. The standout senior forward scored in the 27th minute, and Platte County junior goalkeeper Bailey Ride finished out the shutout. He has taken over as the full-time starter after splitting time in the season-opening Barstow Tournament.
Platte County lost its Suburban Conference Blue Division opener 2-1 on Thursday, Sept. 10.
Chandler Peterson, a sophomore midfielder, scored the Pirates’ lone goal against Belton — like Platte County a Class 3 playoff qualifier a year ago. The Pirates have a stretch of four straight league games upcoming: vs. Kearney (Tuesday, Sept. 15 — result not available at The Citizen’s deadline), vs. Raytown South (Thursday, Sept. 17) and at Grandview (Tuesday, Sept. 22).