Park Hill Soccer gains attention, lives up to hype

One of the bad things about the Park Hill boys soccer team’s trip to the Missouri state semi-finals and finishing above the rest of the teams in the Kansas City area last season is they won’t be sneaking up on many opponents this year. On the other hand, getting Metro Sports to televise their first game of the season in the Olathe Tournament against some of Kansas’ top teams is a sign that Park Hill’s soccer program is getting the recognition they’ve earned.

Coming into this year the Trojans haven’t been able to turn out the best performances against many of the teams in this tournament, which they usually participate in to open the season. It was especially challenging going up against Olathe South, a team which had prior to last season been to the Kansas 6A state finals six consecutive years. Although a rebuilding season for a young South team, there’s something to say about that kind of success and what a win could do for Park Hill’s confidence and reputation.

“Metro Sports was a double-edged sword for us,” coach Dustin Sollars said. “The kids got excited, but they also caved to the pressure a bit, our first half was bad.”

Much the same could be said about their opponent as Park Hill and Olathe South played the entire first half without scoring and a 0-0 halftime tally. Sollars mentioned conditioning, stringing the ball together, and up the field defense as challenges in their first half. Play from central backs Devon Belew and Joel Gordon took away some aggressive attacks from South to prevent several scores.

The story was very different in the second half as Matt Russell scored the Trojans’ first goal ten minutes into the second half. Combined with a tough defense, Park Hill controlled the tempo which allowed them to see more scoring opportunities. Ray Lee added their second goal later in the half with Nick Shepherd putting the finishing touches on the 3-0 victory in the final moments. Lee and David Zdvorak contributed assists with goalkeeper Shane Van Hooser earning the shutout as Park Hill won their first game in front of the locally televised audience.

“The second half we were a little more composed and held our positions on the field better,” Sollars said. “Our big players stepped up and played well, and that helped get us going.”

In the semi-final game, after controlling the ball most of the game and seeing more shots, the Trojans weren’t able to finish as they lost against Blue Valley North 2-0. The following night they defeated Olathe NW 2-1 after being down 1-0 at halftime. Zdvorak and Cole Walker scored on assists from Neal Sampson and Zach Stuhlman in the victory. Park Hill finished third in the tournament which ties their best which was last achieved in 2003. Ray Lee and Quenton Noble received All-Tournament team honors.

Park Hill plays Liberty at the Park Hill District Soccer Complex this week and will host a pair of Springfield teams in Kickapoo High and Glendale High over the weekend.