Park Hill South girls soccer looks like a contender

Two losses to Truman, one of which was in the middle of a four game losing streak last year, made the difference between what was a second place conference finish for the Park Hill South girls soccer team and a conference title last year. Not only do the Panthers have their sights set on winning that conference title in 2011, but they’re also keeping an eye on Northland rival Liberty as they hope to have the opportunity to avenge a season ending loss in the district championship last year with a late season matchup and possibly again in the state playoffs. No, the Panthers are not looking too far ahead, but with eight all-conference selections returning from a 15-7 season last year, it’s easy to see how they have established high goals this season.

“We have a lot of talent returning,” Coach Joe Toigo said.

First teamers Haley Shelton, Katie Riojas, and Emmy Hanlon put three pillars to build around on each third of the field. Riojas and Hanlon accounted for over a third of the Panthers scoring last season with 29 goals. Second teamers Katy Lindsey, Courtney Claasen, and goalkeeper Alexis Mikulich surround them and combined for another 10 goals last season. Lindsey led the team with 15 assists in 2010 while Mikulich recorded six shutouts. Honorable mentions Allie Roy and Mackenzie Williams also return for the Panthers.

With such a strong core group returning, Toigo believes his team will compete with some of the top teams in the metro this season. Knowing your team has talent is one thing; taking advantage of it is another. Their coach emphasized improving in games throughout the season, even against lesser opponents, in order to be ready when it’s time to play for higher stakes.

“The adjustment that has to be made is how you play when you are not controlling the majority of the play, and territory,” Toigo said. “Most of our season we are not in the situation of defending for the majority of the game.”

Due to re-districting, Park Hill South will not face Liberty in district play, but they are scheduled to face-off in the last regular season game April 29th and if things work to their advantage a sectional state playoff game. The two Northland teams are familiar with each other as the players have been competing with and against each other since childhood. While the Panthers have some talented players likely to extend their careers into college, Toigo says Liberty has players who have already been offered roster spots at Division I programs. Differing from what they will likely see during most of the regular season, the Panthers could be more on the defensive in a handful of games against opponents like Liberty and they believe how they play then is what will define their season.

“If they score on us, we've got to be able to turn it around real quick and strike back,” Toigo said of answering opposing team goals.

The Panthers kick-off their season with a pair of games against Springfield area teams Kickapoo and Ozak followed by a challenging appearance in the Olathe Northwest Invitational the last week of March.

Park Hill soccer wants to rely on speed

With the loss of a handful of leading scorers from last year's 9-11-1 team to graduation, the Park Hill girls’ soccer team will attempt to surpass the .500 mark for the fourth straight year in hopes of becoming a recognized threat to the competition. Coach Manny Catano will look to counter the lost scoring with a more balanced attack this year.

“We’re want to be balanced offensively and defensively,” Catano said.

Returning to the fold are Sydney Hultz, Rayci Lee, Shelby Blanchard, Marisa Manzo, Catherine Netwal, and Holly Maier. Catano says he has seen good things so far and expects Lee and Hultz to step into scoring roles for the Trojans as they scored six and four goals respectively last year.

One benefit to being young last year is that many of those players return this season with some experience. But as the saying goes, Park Hill will be out with the old and in with the new in a sense this year. While the Trojans welcome back some key pieces from last year’s team, they will demand a high level of contributions from their incoming freshmen class, one Catano says is mature and talented. It also includes the program’s only goalkeeper, Claudia Fonseca , who will serve as Park Hill’s last line of defense against opposing offenses.

“I’m very impressed with how they’ve handled the first couple weeks of practice and what they’ll be able to add to our team,” Catano said. “They’ll be something to watch.”

Something Park Hill hopes they can really take advantage of teams at is their quickness and speed on the outside. Without control, one of Catano’s most important focuses, they won’t be able to take advantage of the potential scoring opportunities.

“Being composed and able to control the ball without losing possession is one of our highest priorities,” Catano said.

In a game where one burst of momentum could mean the difference in a low scoring game, keeping possession and using their speed are two areas Park Hill will need to excel in to achieve a satisfying record against what appears to be a very competitive schedule. Their season will kick-off with the Lee’s Summit Tournament and will follow with tough matchups against Lee’s Summit West twice, Liberty, Park Hill South, and Kearney.

Park Hill tennis faces challenge to stay on top

The last couple years of Park Hill boys tennis have been memorable ones with several state playoff runs and even a couple close contenders for individual state titles. Tim Kalis’s program has risen to the top of Kansas City’s best competition. In 2011, with the loss of their four top players to graduation, the Trojans will face the challenge of living up to and maintaining the expectations set by those that came before them.

Asked what he has coming back this season, Kalis will tell you ‘a lot of hard work’, a sign of the progressive steps Park Hill hopes to take throughout the season. Even with an inexperienced and, in some cases, young team nothing has changed in terms of the end game.

“It’s going to be tough, but the guys have the same goals as they always have,” Kalis said.

The only two returning starters are seniors Michael Jones and Austin Caldwell. Joining them will be Blake Barnhard, Christian Reinmiller, Chris To, Drew Nickel, Ian Pauley, Nick Merchant, and Max Schoettger.

“You’re going to see our lineup changing and guys moving around. The bottom four spots are going to switch up because of the strong competition we have,” Kalis said. “We have some guys that played four, five, and six last year that could play in those same slots this year.”

While Park Hill may not come into the season with an obvious or dominant number one in their rotation, the Trojans could gain more favorable matchups as they move down the lineup. Some teams see a great disparity between their top varsity player and the last member of the varsity roster, but the closer parity and competition between his players is something Kalis hopes can translate into a better overall team.

“We kind of have a different attitude this year because we want to be able to grind teams out in tournaments,” Kalis said.

Kalis admits that depth is going to be a weakness along with experience, but leadership is something the Trojans aren’t lacking at this early stage in the season.

“I’ve been real pleased with the leadership,” Kalis said. “I’m proud of our juniors and seniors, but also impressed with the maturity of our freshmen.”

Park Hill’s conference title will most likely need its heaviest defense against a talented and experienced Lee’s Summit West team that returns all but one member from last year’s squad. Kalis echoed assistant coach Rustin Reys’ emphasis of the matchup against Liberty and Park Hill South early in the season as an indicator of how the season will play out followed by Pembroke Hill later in April.

“Those are right off the bat,” Kalis said. “That’s going to tell us a lot of what we need to know.”

Park Hill South tennis team looks strong again

Park Hill South boys’ tennis is on their way to what they hope is the formation of a top-notch tennis program in the Kansas City area. The key word is ‘program’ which requires success year after year and by the looks of it the Panthers are moving forward to build off their 2010 finish. Returning from a state qualifying team after going 12-2 including an undefeated team conference championship is state qualifier Griffin Smith and Zack Royle. Smith was 13-1 individually last season and won three tournaments while Royle was an impressive 9-2.

In her second full season as head coach, Glynis Chambers says she thinks it is a benefit to have the same coaching staff back in order to have consistency and for the players to have a familiarity with their approach.

“We are looking forward to a strong season,” Chambers said. “Our goals are the complete the regular season undefeated, win conference, and qualify as a team for state.”

Even though the Panthers return their top two players, they graduated five seniors and filling those spots will be challenge in order to make sure they’re able to step up while keeping the team goals within reach. Freshman Justin Geary and older brother Bob Geary along with seniors Justin Dixon and Josh Lukens appear to be the four players who have separated themselves from the rest of the competition to fill the remaining varsity spots.

While the Panthers’ newcomers adjust to playing at the varsity level, Smith and Royle will contribute immediately as examples to their teammates. In addition to being two of the most skilled players in the Northland, they bring a competitive edge which won’t just give themselves an advantage, but give their teammates sturdy competition to play against in practice. There’s no surprise both want to win state and eventually play tennis in college.

“Both Griffin and Zack lead by examples. They are always positive, ready to work, and believe in the process we play by,” Chambers said. “Griffin wants to get every ball back every time and never give in. Zack wants to hit the ball as hard as he can, over and over again.”

With Smith and Royle’s performance on the court as the anchor, the play of those around them could make the difference for the Panthers as they head down the stretch. Park Hill South will start the season off with three road competitions against North Kansas City, Park Hill, and Fort Osage before competing in the Cameron Invitational on April 1.