Park Hill South’s boys soccer team was dealt a pair of unexpected blows last week, but they made the necessary adjustments to win a 4-2 rivalry matchup against Park Hill on Oct. 15.
Among the adjustments was the insertion of freshman Landon Baer into the starting lineup at the heart of the Panthers’ defense. With junior central defender Sam Reeves serving a one-game suspension for a red card two nights prior, Baer stepped into a vital role for South’s rivalry triumph.
“It’s not ideal; you don’t ask freshmen typically,” Park Hill South head coach Chris Lawson said. “It was kind of a next man up thing. I just thought our kids really stepped up when they needed to.”
While impressed with Baer’s abilities in such a big game, he was also pleased with the performances from freshmen midfielder Mateo Pastorino and goalkeeper Ross Kelly. Lawson saw some outstanding goals, but also knows growth is required for the Panthers to reach their potential.
“We respect Park Hill, but we know we’ve got to play a lot better,” Lawson said. “We’ve always been committed to getting better. We’re happy, we’re good with the result, but we’re committed to getting better because we’ve got room to grow.”
Park Hill had early chances to open the scoring with Andree Interiano Veliz and Collin Keller missing the target in the first 20 minutes. South junior goalkeeper Landon Horst was also called into action, saving a shot by Jair Morales.
Nico Pastorino takes a shot against Park Hill.
Park Hill South eventually worked its way into the match. Junior midfielder Nico Pastorino provided an offensive spark, but his left-footed effort in the 24th minute sailed over.
Just a minute later, Pastorino had another opportunity from a similar position. This time, from about 20 yards out, he found the back of the net after faking a shot with his right and shifting it to his left, giving South a 1-0 lead entering halftime.
South came out hunting for more early in the second half, but Park Hill escaped without further damage. Eventually, 10 minutes into the second half, Park Hill found the equalizer with a stunning 24-yard strike into the top corner from junior midfielder Caleb Smith, who made South pay after they were slow to press following a clearance.
Park Hill also brought on senior winger Max Tisdel to start the second half. Tisdel’s impact was felt quickly with direct runs down the right side, forcing South to adjust once more.
Both teams traded jabs until Micah Wright switched the point of attack with a long, diagonal pass. The ball eventually fell for Finn Killoren, who took a touch off his chest before striking a left-footed effort on frame, and after skipping off the turf, hit the back of the net with 15:56 remaining.
South’s go-ahead goal opened the floodgates as junior winger Nazzal Odeh doubled the Panthers’ lead four minutes later, beating a defender one-on-one before ripping a right-footed shot from the edge of the box into the far corner.
Wright stretched South’s lead to 4-1 in the final 10 minutes, receiving the ball near midfield and driving towards goal before opening a shooting lane and firing a right-footed effort inside the post. Wright’s opportunity came off an assist from Baer, who initially got the ball up to Wright on a clearance.
Micah Wright celebrates his goal on Oct. 15 in front of Park Hill South’s student section.
The goal capped a nine-minute spell in which South scored three times. It was a perfect response from the Panthers, and one Lawson knew his team could deliver, after scoring three in 12 minutes in an overtime defeat to Blue Valley Southwest on Oct. 5.
“It’s not something we draw up, obviously,” Lawson said. “I’ve always told them, ‘you’re defined by how you respond,’ and they believed that. They're capable; the offense here is capable of putting it away, we’ve just got to clean up some of those errors defensively and get better.”
One of those defensive lapses came from a set piece in the final four minutes after conceding a free kick. With Noah Lynch and Kace Pohl over the ball, Pohl jogged away before Lynch deceptively touched it to him, and Pohl lunged to poke it into the corner to make it 4-2.
“Having been a part of a lot of championships, restarts are the difference-makers in close games,” Lawson said. “It’s great to get goals off restarts, but you’ve also got to be able to defend them, too. We’re going to work on that. I own that as a head coach. We’ll continue to get better at that and try to limit our fouls.”
The victory kept Park Hill South’s unbeaten conference record intact, with a 3-0-1 record ahead of final conference matches against North Kansas City (Oct. 20) and Oak Park (Oct. 27). The season’s only draw came on Oct. 13 against Lee’s Summit North.
With severe weather moving in, the match ended 1-1 at the conclusion of regulation. Both goals came in the final six minutes, with Nico Pastorino responding just 20 seconds after Lee’s Summit North took the lead. South finished with 10 men after Reeves received a red card in the final minute for a professional last-man foul.
Park Hill South defeated St. Thomas Aquinas 5-1 on Oct. 19 to extend their unbeaten run to five straight, now sitting with a 9-5-1 record. In addition to the two conference matches, the Panthers will face Rock Bridge and Hickman at the Rock Bridge Shootout Oct. 23-24.
“I’ve seen great progress,” Lawson said. “Their buy-in has been phenomenal. They’re committed to getting better. They know their strengths, they trust each other and this group really cares about each other.”