KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A disaster at the beginning and the end of the Class 4 District 16 championship game derailed Park Hill’s hopes of consecutive playoff appearances.
Staley scored just 22 seconds into the match on Thursday, Nov. 7 at Staley High School, and the hosts advanced to a sectional against Park Hill South with a penalty kick in the 99th minute with a 2-1 golden goal victory. In between, top-seeded Park Hill dominated possession but not quality chances on a bitterly cold and foggy evening.
A senior-laden team, Park Hill frustratingly ended its season at 14-7-2. The Trojans were forced to replace key members of last year’s Class 4 sectional qualifier
“Anytime your season ends is difficult,” Park Hill coach Josh Marchbank said. “But when it ends on a golden goal on a somewhat controversial call late in the game, that’s a bitter, tough pill to swallow. These guys did big things last year, and this senior group was really, really ready to make a run and it just wasn’t in the cards.”
The two teams tied 1-1 in a regular season matchup, and not much separated them in the second go-round, either.
Staley delivered the opening salvo in short order, taking the opening kickoff and immediately pushing the ball into the attacking zone. Park Hill sophomore goalkeeper Wilkie pushed away an initial hard shot from the right side, but the rebound spilled right to Staley midfielder Jared Kinate, who buried the followup shot for a 1-0 lead after 22 seconds.
ROSS MARTIN/Special to Citizen
Park Hill’s Matt Lachowitzer (10) gets tangled up with Staley defender Jesse Kuykendall during a game on Thursday, Nov. 7.
“This whole season it’s been a recurring theme that we’ve struggled to start games on the right foot, but we’ve always found ways to dig our way back in,” Marchbank said.
True to form, Park Hill settled into long spells of possession but struggled throughout to breakdown a defense holding a 1-0 lead. The Trojans’ best chances in the first half came with senior Matthew Lachowitzer curling a right-footed shot over the bar in the 11th minute, and a long ball in the 22nd minute that reserve forward Brandon Chatham appeared to latch onto with his foot just as Staley goalkeeper Bryce McCarthy came up to make a save.
Park Hill’s best offense came from senior midfielder Austin Favela needling the right side of Staley’s defense, and Lachowitzer making a pest of himself in the middle.
“The goal was coming, but Staley was sitting back so deep it was very difficult to break them down,” said Marchbank, who lost senior forward Nick Bender to a foot injury during the game. “We told them it didn’t matter the quality of the goal. We just needed to put our body on the line in the right spots to finish it.”
Park Hill’s breakthrough came in the 58th minute, seemingly out of nowhere. Cameron Caldwell, a senior centerback, made a meandering run from the middle of the defensive zone into Staley’s half of the field. He then fed outside to senior Logan Gear, who fired a ground cross into the middle of the box.
Tre Smith, Park Hill’s lanky center midfielder, one-timed a shot that deflected off a Staley defender and into the net to make it 1-1.
“Cam took it upon himself in that moment to step up, and he makes big plays,” Marchbank said. “He stepped up, beat a couple of guys and opened things up for us.”
Park Hill continued to control possession, and McCarthy saved a header off the line in the 77th minute with extra time approaching. Set-piece opportunities piled up for the Trojans but none resulted in a potential winner either in regulation or the two 15-minute golden goal overtime periods.
In fact, Wilkie made the most noteworthy of his five saves in the 90th minute, sprawling to his right to paw away a shot. The ball looped up and hit off the top of the crossbar before harmlessly going out of play for a corner kick.
“For him to not touch the ball much for 90 minutes, he’s cold; his hands are frozen; his feet are frozen,” Marchbank said. “He kept us in the game. It was a big-time save.”
In the end, a miscue in the center of defense overshadowed an overwhelmingly strong effort from Caldwell and senior centerback Ethan Fiest. A foul near the top of the 18-yard box resulted in the winning penalty kick with Kinate stepping up calmly and blasting a shot just under the bar to beat a diving Wilkie.
Park Hill’s season included a six-game winning streak early, but the Trojans went into the postseason off of back-to-back losses. There were 17 seniors on the roster for the final game.
Park Hill 2, St. Joseph Central 1
Park Hill took down the Indians of St. Joseph Central in the Class 4 District 16 semifinal, which was played on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at Staley High School.
Brandon Chatham and Tre Smith scored the two Trojans goals to give the team the win.