Chris Farmer will have more returning pieces back when Park Hill South’s soccer team takes to the pitch this fall compared to last fall.
The Panthers had only a handful of players back last year with any varsity experience, but this year there are five returning all-conference players the roster. Park Hill South won its fourth straight Suburban Conference Red Division championship, going 9-1 — suffering its first lost in league play since 2013 with a one-goal setback against Liberty North.
Overall, Park Hill South went 15-7-1 and lost in the first round of districts to Liberty, a team it had beat twice in the regular season. The upset kept the Panthers from reaching the playoffs for a fourth consecutive year and marked the first time since 2011 that Park Hill South failed to reach the district finals.
The Panthers lost two standout players in Zach Nay and Isaiah McGilchrist, who were all-conference, all-district and all-region, while Nate Newton, an all-conference pick, also graduated.
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Moti Sabressa is back for the Park Hill South soccer team this fall.
Farmer, who is entering his third year at the helm and coming off being named the conference coach of the year, returns four seniors and a junior that were all-conference last year. Senior defender/midfielder Moti Sarbessa, senior forward Isaac Henn and defender Carson Lindsey were second-team all-conference and all-district picks. Senior forward Austin Gates and junior forward Jacob Garza garnered honorable mention notice in the all-conference selections.
“The keys to success will be playing and sticking together as a team,” said Farmer, who will be assisted by Jared Byrne, Makenzie Gillaspie and Ryan Harris. “We are going to focus on positivity and building each other up throughout the season.”
Farmer noted the goals are to win conference again and return to state after a one-year hiatus. The conference battle got substantially harder this year with some changes in the Suburban Conference. Raytown was moved down to the White Division, while Staley bumped up to the Red Division.
The realignment — with the addition of Smithville and Grain Valley — also meant that Lee’s Summit dropped down from the Gold Division — which it won last year. Both Lee’s Summit and Staley were Class 4 playoff qualifiers last season.
“The conference got a lot tougher this year,” Farmer said. “Winning conference this year will be a huge accomplishment.”