The Park Hill soccer team was on the verge of a second consecutive trip to the Class 4 State Semifinals when the Trojans (15-9-1) headed to Rockhurst High School to take on the Hawklets (22-2) on Nov. 13.
This was the second straight season where the Class 4 opponents matched up in the quarterfinals as Park Hill bested Rockhurst 1-0 last fall. History didn’t repeat itself in the 2021 rematch when the Hawklets came out on top over the Trojans, 1-0.
Park Hill’s goalkeeper Kyle Wilkie had seven saves against Rockhurst in the Class 4 State Quarterfinals.
“I thought we defended well, but we didn’t do what we needed to do today with the ball,” Park Hill head coach Josh Marchbank said. “I’m proud of the guys, they did everything they asked us to do.”
It was a defensive battle with neither team finding the back of the net in the opening half. The Class 4 Quarterfinal contest was scoreless at the break when Rockhurst dominated the time of possession and Park Hill only had two shots on goal attempts.
“We knew we were going to be defending quite a bit and just trying to keep them in front of us, which we did a good job of for the most part. When you defend that much, you expend a lot of energy and our guys were gassed, so it can be difficult to get some guys to be aggressive offensively,” Marchbank said.
The Hawklets came out of the locker room aggressively when they had multiple goal attempts, including two attempts that hit the top crossbar of the goal and not result in a score. Park Hill goalkeeper Kyle Wilkie was all over the place as the senior had seven saves.
“That’s what he has been doing the last three years - he has been a great captain, leader and goalkeeper. He has kept us in a lot of games over the last few years, including today,” Marchbank said.
In the 75th minute, Rockhurst slipped one past Wilkie to break the tie. After trailing 1-0 with 4:11 remaining in regulation, Park Hill was unable to answer with a score of its own and the Trojans were eliminated.
“They broke us down one time late and they got the goal. It had been coming, we were just unlucky to give up a late goal like that,” Marchbank said.
Park Hill had 10 seniors who made an impact in the Trojans’ soccer program, and they accomplished a lot in their Park Hill careers. Since their freshman year, Park Hill has posted a 59-37-3 record while winning three district titles.
“I was texting my captains last night and telling them that what they have done was unprecedented. There have been some great teams who have come through Park Hill, but none of them have done what they’ve done these past few years; they’ve definitely left their mark,” Marchbank said.