A two-goal sequence by the Panthers in under two minutes in the first half of the district semifinals was pivotal in the Park Hill South boys’ soccer team (14-7) knocking Park Hill (13-8) out of the postseason with a 2-1 victory at Oak Park High School on Nov. 1.
In what was the first postseason matchup between the rivals since 2018, the game lived up to the hype with both squads fighting until the end to try and keep their seasons alive. The Trojans lost 1-0 to the Panthers in a regular season matchup exactly one week prior of the Class 4 District 8 Semifinals, and the No. 2 seed looked for revenge in a win-or-go-home scenario against third-seeded Park Hill South.
Park Hill was eager to make it back to another district championship game – coming off two straight district titles and six district championship appearances in the last seven seasons – and started the night off aggressive. Luka Andonosvki came out of the gate firing on all cylinders as the junior had a pair of shot attempts in the first four minutes, with the first one hitting the upper cross bar, but they both missed.
Pushing the midway point of the half, the Trojans added the first point to a scoreless game when Lucas Hrisak connected with the back of the net on a header in the 15th minute. The senior rebounded a miss from Thomas Sweet after Caden Duarte dished it to the junior on a free kick attempt, and the Panthers trailed 1-0.
The lead was short-lived with Park Hill South striking a pair of goals in less than 10 minutes after the Park Hill score. Quinlan McNellis recovered possession of the ball after Will Poole deflected a shot attempt – as the goalkeeper fell to the ground – and the Panther forward made contact with his right foot in the box to tie the game in the 23rd minute.
Park Hill South regained possession shortly after a Park Hill kickoff and the Panthers gained a corner kick from the far left side. The corner kick sailed past numerous Trojan defenders and Park Hill South sophomore Ty Stone headbutted it in for a score with 14:30 left in the half – which was exactly 1:56 after McNellis’ goal – and Park Hill faced a 2-1 deficit.
The Trojans attempted a couple more shots before the half ended with Braedon Nichols and James Betz being unable to tie the game up before the break. Park Hill South took the 2-1 advantage into halftime and was able to walk away with the victory 40 minutes later.
Park Hill had eight second half shot attempts – five of which were on goal – but failed to find the back of the net. The Trojans picked up the pace in the closing six minutes with two corner kicks and three shot attempts, but ultimately came up short by a score of 2-1.
The loss not only ends the Park Hill career of seven talented players, but also that of Trojan Head Coach Josh Marchbank. After being a part of the Park Hill boys’ soccer program for the last 16 years, Marchbank officially announced that he is stepping down from the program that he helped build into one of the top ones in the metro area.
Since 2015, Marchbank has led the Trojans to six district championships and won three of them, with the most notable postseason run being in 2020. That fall, Park Hill reached the Class 4 State Semifinals when a third-place game at state was cancelled due to COVID-19.
Park Hill South’s Quinlan McNellis (#26) scored the first of two Panther goals as Park Hill goalkeeper Will Poole (#1) was recovering from a blocked shot moments before in the Trojans 2-1 postseason loss to the Panthers on Nov. 1.
Following the postseason win against the Trojans, the Panthers went on to match up with No. 1 seeded Liberty North (18-5) on Nov. 3 where Park Hill South’s season came to an end with a 3-1 loss. The Eagles showed why they were the top-seed with a dominant first half outing.
Liberty North scored quickly on a free kick in the opening minute and added a pair of goals in the 22nd and 24th minutes to take a 3-0 advantage at the break. The Panthers got onto the scoreboard in the 47th minute, but were unable to add any more goals and were eliminated from postseason play.