South soccer surge short-circuited

Even the greatest seasons sometimes end with a loss. Those which don’t are the rarest and most special kind. The Park Hill South Panthers got close to a taste of what that might be like, but came up just short of their first state semifinal appearance in school history with a 4-0 loss to Lee’s Summit North in the state quarterfinals last Saturday. Nonetheless, the 2012 Panthers will add conference and district titles to the school’s trophy case well as a valid argument towards going down as the program’s best along with the 1999 and 2000 teams, also state quarterfinalists.

After coming from behind to beat a talented Kearney team in the sectional round several days prior 3-2, the Panthers weren’t worried when they fell behind in the first half 1-0. It was a first half featuring several strong defensive displays which produced very few shots on goal for either team.

Park Hill South came into the second half looking to be more aggressive after playing defense most of the first half, leading to more of an offensive approach. Lee’s Summit North exposed a brief defensive vulnerability to add on another goal early in the half, putting them up 2-0. Down two scores with their season on the line, South mounted their most offensively efficient possessions of the game, getting several quality shots on goal. Their last, a strong footed ball by leading scorer Courtney Claassen, found its way into the goal, but was negated when a handball penalty was called.

“They’re a tough team to score goals on and at that point, we’ve got to score three to win,” Park Hill South coach Joe Toigo said.

Having come away with no results in their most productive offensive possessions of the game, the penalty not only could have cut Lee’s Summit North’s lead in half, but seemed to take away the much needed momentum the Panthers would have needed to mount such a difficult comeback. Lee’s Summit North would tack on two additional goals in the latter half of the game, widening their margin to the final 4-0 score. While this year’s Panthers team may go down in the record book tied for the school’s best finish in school history, what won’t be obvious is the adversity the team had to deal with throughout the year.

“The biggest problem we had was a lot of injuries; we didn’t have the same group on the field very much,” Coach Joe Toigo said. “We only had two players who started every game. Our lineup was changing all the time with injuries, conflicts with other events, illness, etc.”

Senior captain Katie Riojas, one of the two players to start each game, says the team became a close group throughout the year and those obstacles forced them to do things which would ultimately benefit them.

“We’ve all been through so much together,” Riojas said. “Even during our conference games, we were trying to do different things and figuring out what works, so that when we got to these important games we were prepared.”

With three seniors going on to play college soccer and a handful of juniors getting serious looks, Toigo said their focus to become better players allowed him to have more of an impact on guiding the direction of the team.

“I don’t like to compare teams year to year that much, but this team was different. I tend to believe your best teams will usually have the most players going on to play in college,” Toigo said. “So no matter win or loss, they’re constantly working and improving, that’s how I judge my teams. I think a coach can have more of an impact with kids who are also focusing on playing college.”

Park Hill South ends the season with a 19-5-2 record on the year.