KANSAS CITY – Rivalry games tend to have a decent amount of hype ahead of the matchup and when both teams are hot, that makes the anticipation even higher.
Park Hill (11-0) and Park Hill South (7-1) are both playing top-notch soccer entering the midpoint of the season and are set to meet up on Oct. 5. The Trojans are under new guidance with head coach Gareth Pritchard who has led them to a perfect start to the fall.
While the Panthers aren’t unbeaten, they’ve been playing good soccer as well averaging more than four goals a game and letting up less than one. Olathe East (8-1) has been the only team able to take down Park Hill South so far this season as the Panthers haven’t lost to a Missouri team since the 2022 Class 4 District 8 Championship.
Park Hill has been a respectable program in recent years – winning three district titles since 2018 – but hasn’t started off better than 5-0 in more than 15 years. The Trojans have posted seven shutouts so far and haven’t allowed more than one goal in any game, outscoring 11 opponents by a total score of 40-4.
Through 11 contests, the Trojans have won the Park Hill Kickoff Classic and Smithville Invitational. Park Hill has won all but one game by two or more goals with the tightest one being a 2-1 victory in its home tournament against Kansas City’s East (6-2) back on Aug. 30.
Since the Park Hill Classic, the Trojans have only allowed two goals in a 3-1 triumph over Liberty (5-2) on Sept. 14 and a 4-1 dub at Lee’s Summit North (3-8-1) on Sept. 25. The Trojans shut out all three teams they played in the Smithville Invitational while scoring nine goals.
Park Hill South has played three less games than its rivals but currently sit on a 6-game winning streak since losing to Olathe East in the second contest of the year. The Panthers have scored eight goals in two of their last four games, a pair of 1-sided victories over Staley (1-10) and Lee’s Summit (2-6).
Most recently, Park Hill South hosted Lee’s Summit North (3-9-2) and won 5-1 on Sept. 28. The Panthers also defeated Blue Springs South (5-5) 5-1 on Sept. 19.
Park Hill South has beaten Park Hill in the last three matchups since 2021, including the Class 4 District 8 Semifinals. The Panthers and Trojans will also play each other again late in the season on Oct. 24 and will be in the same district.