South rolls into postseason on hot streak
NOTE: This story was published in The Platte County Citizen- Volume 60, Issue No. 43, May 19, 2021
The girls' soccer contest between Park Hill South and Oak Park was the definition of one-way traffic as the Lady Panthers dominated from start to finish with an 8-0 mercy rule win at Park Hill District Soccer Stadium in Riverside, on Tuesday, May 11.
By the contest’s conclusion, Park Hill South had outpassed Oak Park 272-10 with South holding 86 percent of the possession. South senior goalkeeper Lauren Longenecker went the entire game without touching the ball as South sealed its 11th shutout in 17 games this season.
The Lady Panthers got going quickly with two goals inside the opening three minutes from senior forward Arley Anderson and junior midfielder Olivia Gates. The hosts made it 3-0 inside the opening 10 minutes when junior midfielder Keegan Good headed in the rebound after her original shot smacked against the post.
Anderson scored again with a shot sent to the bottom corner after a quick turn near the top of the box to make it 4-0 with under 25 minutes remaining in the first half. With such a commanding lead, South head coach Jared Byrne opted to make wholesale changes, subbing off all 10 field players that started the game.
“It's the week before districts, so our biggest goal has just been to stay sharp but also just avoid injury going in,” Byrne said. “I think they accomplished that, so I’m proud of the girls.”
Even with the reserves, the Lady Panthers continued to dominate as freshman forward Olivia Clemons scored a fifth for the hosts after skipping past a defender and supplying the finish at the near post. With more than 11 minutes remaining in the first half, freshman forward Susi Schulze sent the sixth goal to the top shelf before senior midfielder Addi Leonard had a tap-in at the far post to make it 7-0 at the end of the first half.
South continued to press for the game-ending eighth goal, and finally got it six minutes into the second half from senior forward Abi Riley, who pounced on the loose ball at the edge of the box and sent it into the top corner. With more than 34 minutes left on the clock in the second half, Park Hill South came away with their second 8-0 mercy rule win over Oak Park this season.
South improved to 13-3-1 with its sixth mercy rule win this season. Byrne said he didn’t realize that his team is now unbeaten from their last 10 with six straight wins.
“I didn’t even know that,” Byrne said. “It's kind of cliche that we just kind of focus on one game at a time but that’s all we’ve been doing all year.”
Tuesday’s win over Oak Park also clinched a share of the conference title. Still, Byrne believes that improvements can be made.
“We’re always looking to improve,” Byrne said. “Little parts of the game, different facets of it- whether it’s finishing, eliminating the opponents chances, or getting the ball switched quicker, less touches. We’re doing a lot of good things but we can still do them better.”
South had seven different goalscorers while the Oak Park keeper recorded 15 saves from 23 shots on goal with an additional 11 shots missing the target.
Park Hill South will now turn its focus towards the postseason that got off to a great start with an 8-0 win over North Kansas City (10-8), a team they have already beaten twice this year by mercy rule. South had 12 shots on target compared to none for the Lady Hornets. Adah Anderson had three goals for South followed by Arley Anderson with two goals. Mackenzie Wright, Suzi Schulze and Abi Riley each scored goals for the Lady Panthers.
