Spring Roundup: Apr. 9-14

Park Hill South Girls Soccer
…took control of their conference last week with three conference victories. Anna Courtney scored two goals in South’s 4-1 victory over Raytown South with Crystal Lenhert and Katie Lindsey also putting in goals for the Panthers. In a 4-2 win over Raytown, Shay Jackson, Alysa Guzman, Courtney Claassen, and Abbey Johnson contributed goals. To end the week, Jessica Lee secured her seventh shutout of the year as Park Hill South defeated William Chrisman 3-0. They will be competing in the Blue Springs South Tournament all this week before returning to home to play against Fort Osage next week.
Courtney Claassen leads team in goals (1st in points), Shay Jackson in assists (2nd in points). The Panthers are now 8-1 overall, 6-0 in conference on the year.

Park Hill South Girls Track
…took first place at Northwest Missouri State University out of 11 teams early last week in the Bearcat Invite, edging out Chillicothe by 17 points out of nearly 1000 earned. Leading them were first place finishers Audrey Rothers in the 110 hurdles and Blake Reser in the triple jump. Reser also brought home second in the long jump. Contributing additional team points with their third and fourth place finishes were Tori Kerr in the discus (3rd), De De O’Toole in the 3200 meter race (3rd), Rothers in the high jump (4th), Morgan Keesee in the shot put (4th) and discus (4th), and the 4x800 relay team of Erin Stump, Lizzy Jurries, O’Toole, and Madeline Homoly (4th).
Park Hill South took eighth out of nine teams at the Winnetonka Invitational later in the week. Jessica Hayes placed second in the high jump while fourth place finishes were secured by Kyndal Mills in the triple jump and Jessica Hayes in the 300 hurdles.
They host the Park Hill South Invitational this Friday.

Park Hill South Boys Track
…finished fourth out of 11 teams at Northwest Missouri State University’s Bearcat Invitational to start last week. The 4x100 relay team of Bryan Robinson, Craig Scott, Marcus Harris, and Nick Griffith clocked in a first place time. With second place finishes were Jalen Ross in the 300 hurdles, Max Rodgers in the pole vault, and the 4x800 relay team of Mitch McDonald, Mason Homoly, Lendon Calhoun, and Abdi Sarbessa. Cody Kildow took third in the discus.

The Panthers didn’t finish the week they way they were hoping to at the Winnetonka Invitational last week as they finished last out of nine teams with just 19 points.

Park Hill Baseball
…increased their winning streak to four to end the week last week with two wins. The first came against North Kansas City when the Trojans rallied from a 6-2 deficit to score five runs in the final inning to win 7-6. Zach Anderson contributed two RBI’s while Zach Thompson and Dalton Moats scored two runs apiece. Moats struck out nine in his outing against Smithville on the way to a 7-1 victory over Smithville on Friday. Moats, combined with Nick Jones and Cooper Gardner to hold Smithville to only three hits the entire game. Austin Lewis, John Balsamo, and Moats had two hits apiece while Jacob Vanvacter contributed two RBI’s.
Park Hill is now 8-2 coming into the Northland Tournament this week.

Park Hill Girls Soccer
…split their two games at the Smithville Tournament last weekend. Despite allowing a goal in their own net, Park Hill was able to defeat Harrisonville in penalty kicks 4-3 after the game was tied 1-1 after regulation. The Trojans fell to Staley 2-1 in the next game. Abby Peoples scored Park Hill’s only goal.

Park Hill/Park Hill South Golf
Park Hill South came away with a match victory after a strong outing against Liberty, St. Joe Central, and Park Hill last week at The National. Austin Dorrell medaled for the Panthers with a score of 74. Park Hill South’s top score of 313 bested Liberty at 334, St. Joseph Central at 388, and Park Hill at 389.

Park Hill Boys Track
…placed fifth out of 13 teams at the Blue Springs Invitational last weekend with 61 team points. Leading the way with their first place finish in the 4x800 meter run was the team of Riley Fahrenholz, Kyle Pudenz, Joe Walton, and Nate Huffer. Deven Belew in 400 and Cain Winebrenner in the 1600 took home second place finishes. Steven Clopine in the high jump and Dondrell Hardiman in the 300 meter hurdles placed third.

Park Hill will participate in the Park Hill South Invitational this Friday.

Park Hill Girls Track
…took ninth place out of 11 teams with 26 points last weekend at the Blue Springs Invitational. Taylor Cofield took fourth in the pole vault and fifth in the triple jump to lead the Trojans in points. Also getting fifth place finishes were Kim Rau in the 3200 run and the 4x800 relay team of Rau, Joanna Grauberger, Chelsay Lewis, and Brooke Bischof.

Park Hill will participate in the Park Hill South Invitational this Friday.

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.

Spring Weekly Roundup: April 11-15

Park Hill Boys Tennis
... led by Michael Jones win 10-4 in the top singles matchup they beat Lee's Summit North 7-2 to start off last week. Blake Barnard and Christian Reinmiller also won in their number one double competition 10-6. They next welcomed Ruskin and with a combination of all skill levels beat the Eagles 8-1. Later in the week, they traveled to Pembroke Hill where they fell 5-0 before inclement weather prevented the meet from being completed. They'll compete against Liberty North Wednesday and Blue Springs South Thursday.

Park Hill South Boys Tennis
...improved their overall dual season record to 5-1 last week with a two 9-0 wins against Belton and Fort Osage. Top singles players Zack Royle and Griffin Smith are undefeated at 6-0 on the year.

"They're non-stop, they are just going after the ball constantly," Coach Glynis Chambers said of her top two players."Griffin's got a solid left-hand which can be an obstacle for many players and Zach is a really strong hitter."

Solidifying their lineup, the Panthers have Jim Geary, Justin Dixon, Josh Lukens, and Abhi Gullapalli contributing at the varsity level with Chris McCarthy finding himself pushing those above him in competing for and sometimes stepping into that sixth spot on the roster.

"Our top six players are not only great tennis players, they take their academics seriously, and are overall awesome young men," Coach Glynis Chambers said.

Park Hill Boys Track
.. had another strong performance last week as they placed first overall as a team in the Winnetonka Invitational. A number of Trojans earned top finishes with first place medal winners including Cain Winebrenner in the 1600 meter dash, Nick Smith in the discus (161' 2"), Luke Bossert in the pole vault (12' 6"), Trace Norfleet in the long jump (22' 5.25") and triple jump (44' 9"), and the 4x800 relay team of Nathan Koehler, Joe Walton, Riley Farenholz, and Winebrenner. Runners-up with second place finishes included Anthony Arens in the 100 meter dash (10.88), Quenton Noble in the 200 meter dash (22.8), Nate Huffer in the 3200 meter run (10:48), Smith in the shot put, Nick Shepherd in the high jump, and the 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams. Burt Taylor in the 100 meter run, Joe Walton in the 800 meter run, Dondrell Hardiman in the 300 hurdles, and Artis Norfleet in the long jump all came in third with their respective performances. They'll compete this week at the Kansas Relays at KU before hosting the Park Hill Invitational next week.

Park Hill Girls Track
...saw some strong performances at the Winnetonka Invitational last week with two top finishes. Stephanie Atkinson continues to standout for the Trojans as she earned first place in the pole vault. Also finishing first was the 4x100 relay team of Thomas, Belcher, Moss and Battles. Marche Belcher in the 200 meter run and the 4x800 relay team of Lewis, Grauberger, Bischof, and Ebbrechet finished in second place while third place medal winners included Davon Thomas in the 200 meter run, Bailey Cation in the long and triple jumps, Belcher in the 300 hurdles, Chelsea Lewis in the 800 meter run, and the 4x200 relay team of Battles, Belcher, Moss, and Thomas.

Park Hill South Boys Track
...with a strong performance in the Winnetonka Invitational, the Panthers scored 101 team points which was good enough for third place. First place finishes included James Bowlin in the 800 meter run and Christian Hildebrandt in the high jump. Second place finishers included the 4x800 relay team of Bowlin, D.J. Johnson, Abdi Sarbessa, and Connor Allison, Johnson in the 400 meter run, and Dillon Ryel in the pole vault. Cody Kildow in the discus, the 4x100 relay team of Lucas Gardner, Jones, Josh Gordon, and Andrew Davis along with the 4x400 relay team of Bowlin, Gardner, Johnson, and Ryel all received third place finishes. They will compete next this Friday at the William Chrisman Invitational.

Park Hill South Girls Track
...placed second in the Winnetonka Invitational. The handful of first place finishes came from Tori Kerr in the discus, Blake Reser in the long jump and triple jump, and the 4x800 relay team of Jessica McCoy, Lizzy Jurries, Logan Tucker-Nelson, and Samantha Roy. Roy also placed first in the 800 meter run. Jen Carlson in the high jump, Tucker-Nelson in the 800 meter run, Hannah Carlson in the 300 hurdles, Lauren Goner in the triple jump and the 4x100 relay team of Chandler Termini, Allyse Edwards, Hannah Brown, and Reser all finished as runners-up in second place. They will compete next this Friday at the William Chrisman Invitational.

Park Hill Baseball
... entered this week with a four game winning streak after victories against Park Hill South (5-2) and North Kansas City (1-0). Nathan Shores (.381, 12 RBI's) and Zach Thompson (.326, 9 RBI's) continue to lead the Trojans on offense. But Shores's impressive 0.69 ERA in 20 1/3 innings and Logan Sloniker's 33 strikeouts seem to be what are making the difference for Park Hill which is now 8-6 on the year. They hope to continue their success in the opening round of the Northland Tournament this week against Excelsior Springs, Staley, and Smithville.

Park Hill South Baseball
... despite a solid win against William Chrisman 6-0 earlier last week, the Panthers continued to see a lack of run support for strong pitching performances as they dropped games against Park Hill (5-2) and Winnetonka (2-0). Park Hill South, now 5-9 overall, will hope to combine their good pitching outings with some offense this week as they play three games against Liberty North, Oak Park, and Kearney in the Northland Tournament this week.

"Our pitchers all threw well, but we did not back them up with anything," Coach Josh Walker said.

Park Hill Girls Soccer
...had a rough week at the Smithville Tournament last week. Losses to Smithville (2-0) and Staley (4-2) started out the week, but the Trojans were able to salvage the last game by pulling out victory against Harrisonville after the game went to penalty kicks after a 1-1 score during regulation. They're now with a remaining game against Truman this week followed by matchups with Liberty North and Lee's Summit West next week.

Park Hill/Park Hill South Boys Golf
Park Hill South pulled out a one stroke victory ahead of Liberty last week in a quad meet competition that also included Park Hill and St. Joe Central at the National II last week. Park Hill South's 336 total team score bested Liberty's 337. Park Hill followed with a score of 352 and St. Joe Central trailed with a stroke total of 377.

Park Hill soccer breaks out offensively

Judging by the scoreboard halfway through last week’s game against Ruskin, you wouldn’t guess at this stage of the season the Park Hill girls’ soccer team is having trouble scoring goals. The 6-0 score which was eventually doubled before halftime to an impressive 12-0 meant a second half was necessary according to the ‘mercy’ rules governing Missouri high school sports. The win came on the heels of a 7-0 victory against North Kansas City earlier in the week to improve their record to 3-4 on the year and serves as a hopeful boost going into the heart of their conference schedule.

“Our goal tonight was to just continue working on the same things we’ve been working on in practice. Good passing, being aggressive, and choosing our shots,” assistant coach Dustin Sollars said. “We’re still kind of shaky scoring goal, which is hard to believe after tonight.”

Hinting at leaning on strength of speed on the outside in preseason workouts, Park Hill is looking to wear teams out with their quickness and what they believe is the advantage of being in slightly better shape than the competition.

“I think we’re more fit than most of the teams we play,” Sollars said. “We just have to use that to our advantages, win the ball, possess a little more, and make the other teams chase us to make them tire out more quickly. We’re in really good shape, just need to work on the soccer specifics more.”

Led by captains Rayci Lee, Holly Maier, and Shelby Blanchard, the Trojans have seen an infusion of young talent from Maggie Lanham up front along with Lyndi Plattner and Katie Hibbeler at midfield. They’re adding depth to their quickness which allows them to rest players at key points in games in order to always have an attack threat.

“It’s coming along pretty well. We’ve got some pretty good outside midfielders and we’ve got several of them so we can rotate them and keep them fresh,” Sollars said.

Bringing that depth at the midfield position to the field for its optimal effect along with continuing to wear down opposing teams is something the Trojans will work to work on implementing as they head into the second half of their season.

“We have to be able to competitively match up against everyone else in our conference that we’ll be playing starting next week against Oak Park and Park Hill South a little later, sure up our defense a little bit, and capitalize on some opportunities in order to be where we want to be,” Sollars said.

Spring Weekly Roundup: March 28 - April 4

Park Hill Boys Golf
... took 13th out of 22 teams last week in Lee's Summit North's Klint Andrew Tournament. Austin Dorward led the Trojans with an individual score of 82. The following day they fell to Kearney when their 167 team strokes were best with the Bulldogs' 157. Kearney was led by Ryan Zeck who shot an impressive 33. The Trojans' top golfer was Travis Perry with a 38. They'll play at St. Joe Central before hosting their annual Darren Floyd Memorial Tournament Thursday at Tiffany Greens Golf Course.

Park Hill South Boys Golf
... finished ninth out of 22 teams last week in Lee's Summit North's Klint Andrew Tournament. They followed it up the next day with a second place finish out of three teams in a match at Lee's Summit West. Matt Barry led the Panthers with a quality performance of 37 on the par 36 course.

Park Hill Girls Track
... didn't get the results they particularly wanted when they finished 13th out of 16 teams with their 17 team points at the Rusty Hodge Invitational at Blue Springs South last weekend. Most of those points came from quality performances from Stephanie Atkinson in the pole vault (3rd), Bailey Cation in the long jump (5th) and triple jump (8th), and Chelsea Lewis in the 1600 meter run (8th). They'll compete in the Jerry Crews Relays at Staley High School this Saturday.

"We had a small crew on Friday at the Rusty Hodge Invitational due to school conflicts/some injuries," coach Tari Garner said. "We didn't fare well overall as a team, so there is always room for improvement."

Park Hill South Boys Track
James Bowlin led the Panthers in the Blue Valley Spring Classic over the weekend as he earned the highest place for South out of all athletes when he got second in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:04. Dylan Rylen placed third in the pole vault while Keith Loveless placed seventh in both the 110 and 300 meter hurdles. Also having notable finishes were the 4x400 relay team of Bowlin, Lucas Gardner, Dedric Johnson, and Christian Hildebrandt with their time of 3:34. Gardner placed eighth in the triple jump while Alec Gates placed seventh in the long jump. They'll compete in the Kearney Invitational this weekend.

Park Hill South Girls Track
The Park Hill South Girls Track team saw some good results over the weekend as they excelled in several areas at the Blue Valley Spring Classic against some quality area teams including Lee's Summit North, Lee's Summith West, Leavenworth, Olathe North, Blue Valley Northwest, Blue Valley North, Belton, and Topeka West. Although not being able to clinch any first place finishes, they were able to secure two second place medals along with several third place finishes. Lauren Gonner distance of 16' 1" in the long jump and Lauren Gonner's triple jump accounted for the Panthers second place finishes. Third place medalists included Tori Kerr in the discus, Mallory Ross's shot put, and Hannah Carlsonn the 300 hurdles. Other top finishers included Logan Tucker-Nelson in the 800 meter run (4th), Blake Reser in the triple jumpe (4th), and the 4x100 meter relay team of Alyse Edwards, Jill McDaniel, Chandler Termini, and Reser (4th). The next event they'll compete in will be the Kearney Invitational this weekend.

Park Hill Boys Track
... finished fifth out of 16 teams at the Rusty Hodge Invitational. Top performances were turned in by those familiar with high finishes including first place medals for Trace Norfleet in the long jump and Nick Smith in the shot put. Smith placed fourth in the discus while Norfleet's little brother Artis finished behind Trace in sixth place in the long jump. Quenton Noble turned in a fifth place finish in the 200 meter dash while Dondrell Hardiman finished fifth in the 300 hurdles, Cain Winebrenner finished fifth in the 1600 meter run, and the Trojans' 4x200 meter relay team placed fifth with a time of 1:33. They will compete next in the Jerry Crews Relays at Staley next Friday.

Park Hill Girls Soccer
... earned their first victory of the season last week as Rayci Lee and Olivia Derry scored goals in Park Hill's 2-0 victory over Truman. Claudia Fonseca recorded the shutout. They'll host Ruskin Thursday before playing Oak Park and Lee's Summit next week.

Park Hill South Girls Soccer.. improved to 6-1 on the season last week as they suffered their first defeat of the season in a 2- loss to Shawnee Mission West. They bounced right back against West's in-district neighbor Shawnee Mission South though with a 2-0 victory. They capped the week off with a 3-0 victory against Topeka Hayden with two goals from Katie Riojas and another from Ginny Tucker. Alexis Mikulich completed her second shut out of the week and fifth of the season. They'll play at Winnetonka before hosting Fort Osage on Friday before turning their focus toward a pair of home game against Raytown South and William Chrisman next week.

Park Hill South Baseball
… went 1-2 last week when they started off with two losses to Staley (4-0) and Raytown (8-1). Against Staley, Luke Covault gave six strong innings, but the Panthers’ offensive only generate three hits. South had trouble offensive again against Raytown when they only produced four hits. The Panthers concluded the week on a good note with a 6-1 victory over Fort Osage. Kendrick White went 4-4 with a home run, double, and two singles that produced seven RBI’s. Adam Schemenauer notched the victory with his six innings and nine strikeouts. Friday we beat Fort Osage 1-6.  Kendrick White was 4-4 driving in seven runs with a home run, double and two singles.  Blake Phillips and John Christopher collected two hits a piece. Adam Schemenauer got the win pitching six innings and striking out nine.

Spring Weekly Roundup: Mar. 21-26

Park Hill South Boys Golf
Started their season out in prime form as they took first place in the Truman/William Chrisman Invitational at Drumm Farm to kick off the season. Their 313 team score bested second place Liberty by four strokes. Senior Cameron Probst tied for first place individually while three other Panthers brought home medals. South also took first out of four teams including Oak Park, Ray-Pec, and North Kansas City in their first quad meet of the season. Sophomore Austin Dorrell placed first individually.

Park Hill Boys Golf
Took ninth at the Truman/William Chrisman Invitational with a score of team score of 362. Colby Buehler led the team with an 84. It was Buehler once again later in the week leading the Trojans as his 42 earned him a medal and put Park Hill ahead of Platte County and Mid-Buchanan with a team score of 187. They host Kearney this week at home.

Park Hill Girls Soccer
Did not get off to the start they would have liked as they went 0-3 in the first week of competition at the Lee's Summit Tournament. Sydney Hultz and Katie Hibbeler scored goals in a 4-2 loss to Ray-Pec in the opener while the Trojans were unable to score in their tournament finale against Lee's Summit North falling 5-0. They play at Lee's Summit West Thursday.

Park Hill South Girls Soccer
... had an impressive opening week as they went 4-0. The Panthers were not shy against Belton in their opener as they blasted the Pirates with a 10-0 victory. Two goals a piece were registered for Courtney Claassen, Katy Riojas, Ashton Anderson, and Abbey Johnson. Katy Lindsey and Alyssa Guzman added a pair for good measure as Alexis Mikulich recorded the shutout. South went on to beat Oak Park 2-1 before they traveled to Springfield for the weekend where they defeated Ozark 7-0. A 2-0 defeat of Springfield Kickapoo capped a success week as Guzman and Haley Shelton goals padded another shutout by Mikulich, her third of the week. They'll play in the Olathe Northwest Invitational this week.

Park Hill Boys Tennis
In what coach Tim Kalis described as one of his team's initial tests, the Park Hill boys tennis team passed it in convincing fashion with an 8-1 team victory. Although top singles player Mike Jones fell 10-3 in his first competition of 2011, him and Blake Barnard later came back to win 10-8 in the top doubles competition to led Park Hill to their first victory of the year. They play Park Hill South and Lee's Summit West this week.

Park Hill South Boys Tennis
Park Hill South also defeated Liberty this week with a 6-3 team victory to start off the season. Senior Griffin Smith won his top singles match 10-4 and teamed up with Zack Royle in doubles to defeat the top Liberty pair 10-5. The Panthers followed it up with a close 5-4 victory later in the week to improve to 2-0 on the year. They'll faceoff against Park Hill and Fort Osage next week along with compete in the Cameron Invitational.

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.

Trojan catalyst - Gossett always in thick of the action for resurgent Park Hill girls

After two seasons of averaging the same amount of wins as losses, the Park Hill girls soccer team is looking to break the trend this season after a recent string of victories.

“We are improving daily, the chemistry and the work rate grows on a game by game basis. Up to now we’re telling the girls that this next game is the most important of the season and they should treat it as such,” coach Manny Catano said.

“I think earlier in the season one of our weaknesses was just selflessness, we weren’t playing as a team and I think we’re starting to come into our own as a team,” assistant coach Tara Southwick said.

Some of the Lady Trojans’ momentum can be attributed to the leadership and player of senior Emma Gossett. Whether it’s diving on the basketball court for a loose ball or breaking through the defense for a goal on the soccer field, you’ll usually find Gossett in the middle of the action. Although hardly a surprise, last year’s conference defensive player of the year doesn’t shy away from the physical nature of the game.

“I don’t like getting pushed around, I’m not gonna let it happen. I’ve got an older brother so I’ve kind of learned to handle my own,” Gossett said of her aggressive style.

“Emma is an asset to any team. She has a lot of determination and her work rate in games is simply our best,” Catano said of Gossett’s contributions. “She can step up and compete against our opponent’s best player and shut them down.”

Known as a tenacious defender, her skills were on display last Thursday against Raytown South, but it wasn’t necessarily on the side of the field you might expect. The loss of several offensive players to graduation and unexpected injuries this season has created the need for Gossett to play both offense and defense. Streaking through the Cardinal defense from almost a third of the field’s length, Gossett scored the first of what would be a standout three goal night.

Shared credit followed the strong performance as the Trojans’ top defender and leading goal scorer praised her teammates.

“They fed me perfect balls so I could do it,” Gossett said.

Attending Northwest Missouri State next year, Gossett will hang up the competitive soccer cleats for good at the end of this season, but a common theme has been expressed from Gossett and her team about what they’d like to accomplish before then.

“I definitely want to beat South,” Gossett said. “I don’t think we played some of our best soccer the last time we played them.”

Gossett was at it again on Monday night as she scored five goals for the Trojans in an 8-0 rout of William Chrisman. It's clear now no matter what the rest of the season brings Park Hill, you can be sure Gossett will be causing a stir for opposing offenses and defenses alike.

Lady Trojans look to surprise

After having two seasons averaging around a .500 record, Park Hill Girls Soccer Coach Manny Catano hopes this season will be one they can turn into a solid winning year. They’ll have some familiar faces returning for them this year, but many of the Lady Trojans will be new to the varsity level.

“We have some players that got some time last year, but we’re very young this year,” Catano said of his team’s makeup. “I don’t think we’re going to be super deep, but the first eleven will be pretty strong.”

Returning starters include senior Emma Gossett who was last year’s conference defensive MVP. Joining her will be midfielders Heather Schieber and Melani Rodriguez along with defenders Rayci Lee and Holly Maier.

Junior Michele Rupard will be in front of the net for Park Hill as she brings her athleticism and aggressiveness to the soccer field for the first team.

Marisa Manzy, Shelby Blanchard, Catherine Netwall, Dani Wilber, and freshman Sydney Hultz will also see a significant amount of playing time this year.

After tying for second in the conference last year behind Park Hill South, Catano says they are probably favored to repeat again, but the Trojans wouldn’t mind taking a shot at the title themselves.

With 55 girls coming out for the program this year compared to last season’s 42, Park Hill has used their numbers so far to focus on the heavy stuff including conditioning and fundamentals.

“We haven’t worked a whole lot on any patterns,” Catano said of their progress. “We haven’t focused on any schemes we’re going to play.”

He’d rather his team take a more composed approach to the game and focus on taking advantage of those important chances they get presented with in each game.

“We want to be able to possess and compose a possession, don’t want to hurry and then blow the cover off the ball,” Catano said. “That’s really going to be the struggle with any group by not panicking and enjoying the ball, just play.”

Park Hill will kick off the season at the Lee’s Summit Tournament featuring some of the area’s top teams. Some other tough challenges this season will be district foe Liberty and Lee’s Summit North.

“We have some new faces and a couple of players who are a bit special,” Catano said. “It’s going to be an interesting season.”