SPRING OUTLOOK: Park Hill Girls Soccer

Coming off a .500 season in 2011, Park Hill girls soccer returns this year with many of the same faces that saw a majority of the minutes and scoring from last year. Coach Manny Catano sees that as an advantage and wants this year’s team to start where they left off last season.

“Our strength is our experience, as nearly our whole varsity squad played varsity last year and we have several returning starters,” Catano said.

The Trojans fell comfortable coming into the season with those who will control the tempo of the game through the middle of the field including Sydney Hultz, Shelby Blanchard, and Lyndi Plattner.

“Shelby will anchor our defensive backs,” Catano said. “Sydney and Lyndi will dictate play through the midfield by controlling distribution of the ball.”

While maintaining possession and controlling the ball appear to be strong points for Park Hill as they approach their season opener, the key will be turning those into scoring opportunities. That’s where their forwards come in and will play a pivotal role in putting points on the board for the Trojans.

“A key area of play for us will be scoring goals, getting production from Katie Hibbeler, Maggie Lanham, and Jordyn Galvin will be important,” Catano said.

Upperclassmen Maddie Hemphill, Ashley Sutlief, and Katlin Moran will contribute as well as a large group of sophomores including Regina Bolin, Abby Peoples, Claudia Fonseca, Emily Villarreal, Karra Kennedy, and Jamie Dawalt.

“We have a lot of sophomores that will be stepping up to play big roles on our squad this year,” Catano said.
Park Hill kicks off their season at the Lee’s Summit Tournament this week. They host Lee’s Summit West next week, a team they see as a top competitor for the conference title.