BOYS SOCCER PREVIEW: Trojans return core of last year's third-place state team

After one of the best seasons since 1993 and tying for a school best third place finish at state, the Trojans’ boys soccer team finds themselves in an unfamiliar situation. Not only are they expecting to be successful again this year, but they’ll be doing it with some of the same faces from last year’s dash through the playoffs.

“We’re in a unique situation where we have a lot of returners. At the end of last year’s state team we only lost three seniors and we were very young. We return a large senior class,” coach Dustin Sollars said.

Sollars will look to a senior group of which 14 remain from the original 16 that came into the program just three years ago. That same core group of players led Park Hill to a 24-6-2 record last year with conference, district, sectional, and quarterfinal titles.

“This year they’re going to have to be motivated by something different. Now it’s expected, because anyone can do it once,” Sollars said. “The mark of great teams is how often they’re capable of putting it together.”

The Trojans will rely on a tough and physical defense led by Raymond Lee and Joel Gordon along with goalie Shane Vanhooser. On offense, look for David Zdvorak to score his share of goals this season with help from Neal Sampson and Quenton Noble. Park Hill not only has a handful of standouts, but also several who will contribute their composure and confidence with the ball as role players.

“We just have a cast of people that play their role to a tee,” Sollars said of his team.

As far as the competition, their schedule appears more difficult this year, especially since they won’t be sneaking up on anybody. Lee’s Summit West emerges as the most evident new conference rival, but the Trojans’ toughest competition will come outside of league play with the likes of Rockhurst, Liberty, and games against a pair of St. Louis schools.

The Trojans kick off the season at the Olathe Invitational, a tournament Park Hill teams have struggled at in years past. Sollars believes a quality showing against some stiff competition could be a good sign of what’s to come.

“Those Kansas schools are solid and they’ve shown it,” Sollars said. “That’s our early season goal is to come out sharp and prepared.”

Transitioning from last year’s success to focusing on this season and beyond has been a key goal so far for the Trojans.

“We’re just looking at what it takes to be a consistent group and build on that,” Sollars said. “Recognizing what we want to do now is set an example so they can build a legacy for years to come.”