Park Hill South sophomore Savanna Pittman (#37) celebrates with her teammates after scoring the first second-half goal in the 6-0 opening round win over St. Joseph’s Central in the Class 4 District 8 Tournament at Oak Park High School on May 11.
NORTH KANSAS CITY – En route to dominating many of its opponents throughout the spring, Park Hill South (21-1) continues to complete accolades from bringing home a conference title to advancing to the Class 4 District 8 Girls’ Soccer Championship.
All season long, Park Hill South has been a tough team to beat, having erupted for 62 goals and only allowing 17 in the regular season. In doing so, the Lady Panthers became Kansas City Suburban Conference Silver Division Champions, their first conference title since sharing the honor with Lee’s Summit in 2021 and the first time they’ve claimed one outright since 2012.
The credit to much of the success belongs to the talented senior class, especially Olivia Clemons. The senior star set the program record with goals in a season with 36 in the regular season alone – adding even more so far in districts – breaking the previous record of 35 by Shay Jackson in 2015, which included postseason goals as well.
Heading into the postseason, Park Hill South was on the winning side of 10 shutouts, thanks to senior goalkeeper Kayla Thompson. That didn’t change in the opening game of the Class 4 District 8 Tournament, a 6-0 beatdown over St. Joseph’s Central (9-9) at Oak Park High School on May 11.
Clemons ended with a hat-trick, scoring the first two goals of the game. Freshman Aubrey Bryant wasted no time getting on the board in her first career high school postseason game, taking a pass from Grace Leak and putting the No. 1 seed up 3-0 at halftime.
Savanna Pittman struck first in the second half as Sarah Listrom had the assist and Clemons found her third goal of the game not long after. Senior Lily DiBernardo connected with junior Arianna Perschau later on for the sixth and final goal of the one-sided postseason affair.
Park Hill South went on to play Liberty (7-16) in the district semifinals and came out on top 4-1 on May 13. The Lady Panthers advance to the district championship for the second straight season and are looking to bring home the first district title since 2021.
The championship will be identical to last season, a matchup between Park Hill South and Liberty North (12-4). The game will be on May 15 at 6 p.m. at Oak Park High School.