PARKVILLE – The third meeting between rivals had the same result as Park Hill South (18-2-1) eliminated Park Hill (12-7) in the Class 4 District 8 Soccer Tournament en route to bringing home the first district title since 2019 with a 2-1 win on Nov. 2.
The Park Hill South boys’ soccer team celebrates with the Class 4 District 8 Championship plaque after eliminating Park Hill with a 2-1 win on Nov. 2.
The rivals know each other well, meeting six times since the start of last season as the Panthers came out on top by one goal in each matchup. This is also the second straight meeting in the postseason.
“We have a ton of respect for Park Hill, they’re a great team,” Park Hill South head boys’ soccer coach Chris Farmer said. “To beat a good team like that, we talked about it earlier, that nothing is easy and it’s something to be proud of. You want to have to work hard to win it and they made us work hard, so we earned it.”
Having won 3-2 and 1-0 in the regular season, Park Hill South struck first in each matchup – including the postseason – despite Park Hill getting the first shots in districts. Daiggen Gaar and Aiden Romsland both had an opportunity to give the Trojans a goal in the first 12 minutes but came up short.
With right under 17 minutes left in the first half, Benny Rouse was in position to headbutt the ball through the back of the net on a corner kick. Nearly seven minutes later, Maddox Redman scored to put the Panthers up 2-0.
Park Hill senior Luka Andonovski responded quickly with a goal of his own less than a minute after Redman. In the first matchup of the year, the Panthers led 2-0 and the Trojans fought back before giving up a late goal so there was a bit of déjà vu after Andonovski scored.
“We knew coming out that they would be all over us because the first time we played them we were up 2-0, and before we knew it, it was tied. We knew we were in for the long haul because they weren’t going to give up,” Farmer said.
The score going into the half was 2-1 in Park Hill South’s favor. The second half was a defensive battle with both teams having scoring opportunities but ultimately coming up short and the Panthers came away with the win as Caden Duarte’s last effort shot at the buzzer was missed.
“We know the quality of that team and at any given point in time, if we’re falling asleep, then they’re going to capitalize on that. I saw our boys locked in and play hard and I think that speaks to these guys’ grit,” Farmer said.
Park Hill South was coming off a 3-1 loss to Liberty North in the 2022 Class 4 District 8 Championship last year. The last time the Panthers won a district title was in 2019 when this senior class were freshmen.
“It feels great, these guys have worked hard and it’s such a good group of guys. They’ve got great team chemistry and I’m just happy for them. I know they felt the pressure of not having won in awhile, but they came out and performed tonight,” Farmer said.
Park Hill might have fallen short in the district championship, but it had an impressive season in the first year under coach Gareth Pritchard. In the aftermath of the regular season, the Trojans had to forfeit five games with their only real losses coming to the Panthers.
Park Hill South advanced to the Class 6 Quarterfinals and is one win away from the Final Four and will take on Rock Bridge (18-6-3) in Columbia, MO, on Nov. 11. The Panthers tied with the Bears 1-1 in the Rock Bridge Shootout earlier this season.