Drew Aggus
Special to the Citizen
LIBERTY, Mo. — Park Hill South defeated the Blue Jays of Liberty in a penalty kick-nailbiter to take the Class 4 District 15 championship on Thursday, Nov. 7.
The Panthers lost to the Blue Jays 3-0 in their first conference game of the season, but coach Christopher Farmer liked the growth his team showed throughout the year.
“We’ve improved so much as a defensive unit over this year,” Farmer said. “It just came down to a mindset. You just have to be mentally tough.”
The championship, which was played at Liberty North High School, went 110 minutes without a single goal scored. The Blue Jays had 10 shots on goal, while the Panthers had nine. Both goalkeepers performed exceptionally.
The game went to a penalty kick shootout tied 0-0. It was anybody’s game.
The Blue Jays made the first shot of PKs, but Josh Garza responded, scoring for the Panthers to tie the shootout 1-1. The Blue Jays didn’t score on their second attempt — thanks to a great save from sophomore goalkeeper Noah Reuscher — but the Panthers did as Dawson Evans kicked one in.
DREW AGGUS/Special to the Citizen
The Park Hill South players mob Jacob Garza after he secured the game-winning goal to lift the Panthers to a win against Liberty on Thursday, Nov. 7 in Liberty.
The Blue Jays made their next shot, while Carson Owen missed for the Panthers, and the shootout was tied 2-2. The Blue Jays made their next shot to take a 3-2 lead, but Connor McCauley tied it for the Panthers.
On the final attempt of the shootout, the Blue Jays missed on a kick that went well over the top of the goal. Jacob Garza stepped up to take the potential game-winning and district-winning kick for the Panthers. With all the pressure on Garza, he slipped it right past the keeper to give the Panthers the win, along with their first district title in three years.
The Panthers practice penalty kicks almost every day, something that Farmer thinks propelled his team to victory.
Reuscher, who made an astounding 10 saves in regulation, was impressed by the way his teammates banded together in the end.
“We really just came together on defense and offense,” Reuscher said. “Even when it wasn’t working, we found a way to hold off their strong offense and their relentless defense. We just found a way to bury it in the end.”
Farmer was pleased with his team’s performance. In just his fourth year at the helm for the Panthers, this is already their second district crown.
“I’m so proud of these guys; I just couldn’t be more happy for them,” Farmer said. “They just work hard every day. You like to see their work pay off.”
With the win, the Panthers moves on to play Staley in the sectional round at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at Park Hill South.
South beat Staley in double overtime twice this season, 3-2 in September and 1-0 last month.
The last time that the Panthers made it to sectionals, which was in 2016, they defeated Oak Park before losing in the state quarterfinal to Rockhurst.
Park Hill South 5, Liberty North 0
Park Hill South crushed district host Liberty North in the Class 4 District 15 semifinal — a game played on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Evan Oathout scored a goal in just the second minute of the game for the Panthers. For the Eagles, it only got worse from there.
Dawson Evans extended the lead to 2-0 just 26 minutes later, and the Panthers took the 2-0 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Panthers came out firing. Carson Owen, Lucas Crane and Cody Chatham each scored a goal in the second half to give the Panthers a five-goal victory.
Noah Reuscher played goalkeeper for 60 minutes on the night — not allowing a single goal — while Cade Meek came in for relief in the last 20 minutes and also not allowing a goal.
With the win, the Panthers advanced to the district championship for the second consecutive year after losing to Park Hill in last year’s Class 4 District 16 championship.