RIVERSIDE, Mo. — It can be said in a rivalry game you can throw out the record books.
Park Hill came in with a 14-3 record and ranked No. 5 in the latest Class 4 poll by the Missouri Soccer Coaches Association. Park Hill South came in one game under .500 on the season.
In the latest Battle for the Hill rivalry matchup it was the Trojans who came out on top, but needing nearly the entirety of two overtime periods to put away the 3-2 win — with all three goals coming from Ali Walls, the Trojans leading scorer.
“It’s a rivalry game,” Park Hill coach Brandt Bell said. “It’s just nuts. Everybody is laying it on the line. It’s what you expect. Park Hill and Park Hill South, it’s going to be a battle for sure. We persevered through some obstacles and lucky for us we have Ali Walls on our team.”
Park Hill opened the scoring in the eighth minute after the referee whistled for a hand ball in the penalty area. Walls buried the ensuing penalty kick to get the ball rolling.
Park Hill South went on the front foot and tied the score.
Four minutes later Adah Anderson curled in a shot from just inside the penalty area to bring the teams back to even footing.
Park Hill went into the break with the lead after Walls notched her second goal of the game just over a minute from the halftime whistle. The senior ran onto a Grace Wineinger long ball shrugged the ball over the keeper and tapped into the empty net — contact with the arm above the point of the shoulder is not a handling offense.
Park Hill nearly added another coming out of the locker rooms but South goalkeeper Taylor Evans came up with two big saves to keep it level. From there, Maycie Bolger slotted home on the counter attack for Park Hill South in the 42nd minute.
“We’ve been talking all season about confidence and believing and playing together,” Park Hill South coach Jared Byrne said. “I think they’re starting to believe in each other. The game was back and forth all game. We made mistakes, they made mistakes. Unfortunately they took advantage of the last one. It was a great game.”
The rest of regulation went back and forth but the Trojans had the better of the chances. Walls was denied four times by Evans trying to complete her hat trick in regulation.
“Obviously we knew a lot about Ali,” Evans said. “I thought the important thing was to not think about the name and think of her as any other player on the field, not think about her stats, just play my game and play it well.”
Evans final stop denied Dragana Andonovski in the final minute and the intra-district rivalry matchup went to extra time.
“You just keep hoping the intensity doesn’t drop,” Bell said. “You keep looking for good opportunities, you stay composed. I think to our credit the girls didn’t settle for super long shots. They did try to find good chances and their goal ie made some big stops and their defense stood up a lot.”
In the extra time Evans made three big saves to keep things level and Walls rang a shot off of the crossbar just inside the second overtime period. However with 1 minute, 9 seconds on the clock Walls completed her hat trick after collecting a long ball from freshman Jayden Dorrell and burying the shot before receiving a mobbing from her teammates.
“We just kept getting unlucky,” Walls said. “Sometimes in the past I may have shut down and not been able to persevere through. This year I believe we have a team that can go really far and I recognize it takes a lot of hard work. It was frustrating for sure but I knew I had to keep taking good shots. Scoring, it was a huge weight off of my shoulders. The feeling doesn’t get old and it’s worth it.”
The win gives Park Hill seven straight wins against their rivals dating back to a 1-0 loss in May of 2014. Park Hill won the season series that year 2-1 after winning a rematch 1-0 in overtime in the Class 4 sectional round two weeks later.
Park Hill 2,
St. Teresa’s Academy 0
The Trojans picked up a 2-0 win on the road at St. Teresa’s Academy on Monday, May 8, in Kansas City.
Ali Walls had both goals for the Trojans and Ayana Weissenfluh had both assists.
Kelbey Emerson posted another shutout for Park Hill, which improved to 15-3.
Platte County 1,
Pembroke Hill 1
The Raiders scored first, in the 15th minute, but the Pirates tied the game in the second half in a showdown on Thursday, May 3, at Pirate Stadium.
Hanna Hall scored a goal in the 59th minute, with a helper going to Destinee Smith, to help Platte County tie the contest.
Park Hill 2,
Blue Springs South 0
Ali Walls and Dragana Andonovski tallied goals for the Trojans in a victory over the Jaguars in Suburban Conference Gold Division play on Thursday, May 3, in Blue Springs, Mo.
Assists went to Jayden Dorrell and Jordan Austin for the Trojans. Kelbey Emerson posted a shutout in goal.
Park Hill South 3,
Lee’s Summit North 2
Down at the break, the Panthers got three goals in the second half to pick up a win on Thursday, May 3, at Park Hill District Soccer Complex.
Lee’s Summit North went up 1-0 on Kaylie Rock’s goal in the 20th minute.
Ryanne Serrone-Brown had a pair of goals for the Panthers in the second half. The first tied the game in the 47th minute — on a pass from Sophia Dunn — and in the 52nd to tie the contest.
Emma Gillespie scored on a pass from Taylor Mulligan in the 63rd minute to account for the game-winner.
The Broncos got a goal from Cassidy Calvin in the 73rd minute to account for the final tally.
Park Hill South had two goalkeepers — Taylor Evans in the first half and Lauren Longenecker in the second half.
“We did not play well in the first half and were just a little out of sync,” Park Hill South coach Jared Byrne said. “But I was really proud of how the girls bounced back in the second half.”
Notre Dame de Sion 1, Platte County 0
Gabby Grimaldi had the only goal of the game when she scored in the 28th minute to lift the Storm to a win at Pirate Stadium on Wednesday, May 2.
Liberty North 3,
Park Hill South 0
The Eagles scored two second-half goals to pull away from the Panthers in a Suburban Conference Red Division win on Tuesday, May 1, in Liberty.
The Eagles got a pair of goals from Sidney Ewing and in between her two markers, Abby Bray scored.
Liberty North went up 1-0 on Ewing’s goal in the 18th minute.
Bray scored two minutes into the second period — on a pass from Ewing, who scored her second goal in the 57th minute.
Park Hill South was limited to one shot on goal in the opening 40 minutes and two in the second half. Liberty North tallied eight attempts.
“We had a few breakdowns that cost us and we didn’t take advantage of our chances on the other end,” Park Hill South coach Jared Byrne said.
Taylor Evans and Lauren Longenecker split time in goal for the Panthers, which fell to 7-9 overall and 5-4 in league play.
Platte County 9,
Raytown South 0
The Pirates posted a third straight shutout and rolled to a win against the Cardinals on Monday, April 30, in Suburban Conference Blue Division play.
Destinee Smith had a hat trick for the Pirates in the road game, while Bryn McGehe added a pair of goals. Natalie Wolbert, Bailey Bologna, Hannah Valentine and Hanna Hall all had a goal as well.
Hall, McGehe and Alexis Guillory had two assists each, while Bologna and Emily Gutierrez had one each.
Jaylee Wiedemer posted her 12th shutout in the win for the Pirates.
