A pair of double overtime penalty kicks by North Kansas City was the downfall of the Park Hill South boys’ soccer team in the first round of the Class 4 District 8 Tournament on Oct. 30.
At the end of regulation, the Hornets and Panthers were knotted at 1-1, and headed into overtime. With the game still being tied when the first overtime ended, the district quarterfinals headed into a second overtime period where North Kansas City took a 4-2 lead when the Hornets made more penalty kicks than Park Hill South did.
“Our boys worked really hard and played good soccer, but things just didn’t seem to go our way,” Park Hill South head coach Chris Farmer said. “During the game, they packed 10 players behind the ball at all times and we were unsuccessful at breaking the lines and creating quality scoring chances.”
Park Hill south goalkeeper Noah Reuscher was one of the nine Park Hill South seniors this fall.
Max Vandeginste and Noah Reuscher were the two Panthers to score penalty kicks in double overtime, but the Hornets scored more to upset Park Hill South and move on to the next round. The first half of the contest was a defensive battle, with neither team able to score a goal.
In the 75th minute, Park Hill South broke the scoreless tie and took a 1-0 lead with a goal by T.J. Rouse. With 3:00 remaining in regulation, there was a Panther handball in the goal box, which gave the Hornets a penalty kick to tie and extend the game.
“All season long, our players handled adversity with class, even in the midst of a situation late in the final game, which potentially impacted the outcome of not only the game, but their season. I was heartbroken for our seniors, but will use it as a lesson for our younger players,” Farmer said.
This was the third matchup between North Kansas City and Park Hill South as the Panthers won the two regular season games by a total margin of 13-2. However, the Panthers came up short in the postseason contest and their nine seniors played their last high school soccer game.
Park Hill South struggled early in the season, losing five of its first six games, but the Panthers bounced back and won six straight and closed the regular season out with a 10-3 record through their final 13 games. Park Hill South entered districts as the No. 3 seed and ended the season with an 11-9 record.