FENTON – Teddy Franke did not see his shot enter the net.
The Rockhurst senior raced for a loose ball, swung his foot, fell to the turf and listened.
“I kicked it as hard as I could, and then I saw everyone celebrating so I figured it went in,” Franke said.
Franke scored the game-winning goal with five seconds remaining in regulation to propel Rockhurst to a thrilling 2-1 victory over Park Hill South in the Missouri State High School Activities Association Class 4 boys soccer championship game Saturday at Soccer Park.
Rockhurst (24-0), which won its third consecutive state title and 10th overall, completed an undefeated, untied season for the first time in program history.
More notably, the Hawklets finished the season as the No. 1 ranked team in the nation according to the United Soccer Coaches rankings.
Rockhurst began the season ranked No. 5 in the nation and moved into the top spot during the week of the final four. The Hawklets cruised to a 6-0 victory over John Burroughs in the state semifinal, but prior to their championship game meeting with Park Hill South, players admitted to feeling the gravity of the moment.
“It all kind of hit me at once,” junior Uchan Kohring said. “There was definitely pressure on us to keep the perfect record and have a three-peat.”
Park Hill South (20-3-1) may not have received a copy of the national rankings prior to the game, as the Panthers went toe-to-toe with Rockhurst for the full 80 minutes, exchanging scoring chances and forcing the Hawklets to defend as often as they attacked.
“We knew that we could match up with them, and I’m so proud of the way our guys responded,” Park Hill South coach Chris Farmer said.
The evenly-played game seemed destined for overtime as an airborne ball fluttered towards midfield with 10 seconds remaining. But the ball caromed towards the left sideline where the speedy Kohring was revving.
“There are so many fast, athletic kids out there that in 10 seconds they can get down the field,” Rockhurst coach Matt Darby said. “We’re thinking overtime, but you play to the end.”
Kohring went on a sprint, flipped the ball over a defender and raced towards the goal. Park Hill South goalkeeper Hayden Thatcher darted way out of his net, made a sliding attempt for the ball and collided with Kohring, sending the players and the ball flying in opposite directions.
The ball squirted near Franke, who took two strides and blasted it just before it was reached by a sliding Park Hill South defender. Franke took a heavy tumble after the strike, and while airborne, did not witness the result.
“Pretty surreal,” Darby said. “I almost thought we were going to get a penalty kick after the collision with the keeper, but the ball squirts loose over to Teddy and he puts it in the back of the net.”
The thrilling ending was fitting for a game that deserved to be remembered.
A scoreless first half saw Park Hill South continue to grow in confidence as they flustered a high-powered Rockhurst attack that averaged 4.5 goals per game and had a plus-92 goal differential.
“It was a 100 percent team effort,” Farmer said. “Everybody was bought in, locked in to playing their roles. We weren’t asking guys to pack it in, just asking guys to commit to defending and they did that.”
But the Hawklets awakened the silent scoreboard shortly after intermission.
In the 42nd minute, Franke cruised down the left side and sent a cross to Kohring, who directed a header past Thatcher to give Rockhurst a 1-0 lead.
“When we get it wide, we like to play it across into the box and it’s usually a perfect ball in there,” Kohring said. “I knew it was going behind the defenders. I was waiting for it and tapped it in.”
After his goal, Kohring jogged towards the corner flag and perfectly executed a back flip in celebration.
“I learned that during the summer, so I just brought it out here,” Kohring said.
But Park Hill South soon flipped the field the other direction.
In the 54th minute, Park Hill South senior Joyuanki Victore Jr. directed a bouncing ball ahead to senior Quinlan McNellis, who popped it over the head of Rockhurst goalie Luke Strueby from 18 yards away to tie the score.
“When (Rockhurst) scored their goal, I wasn’t worried, I thought we’d get one,” Farmer said. “Our guys are a great group of friends off the field and that translates on the field. They trust each other and they fight hard for each other.”
Rockhurst responded with two glorious chances. A heavy shot from sophomore Asende Welongo from 10 yards away was brilliantly denied by Thatcher, who whipped his right arm into its path at the last moment.
Moments later, a corner kick sent in by Rockhurst senior Bakary Kante was pinged into the crossbar by the head of junior Maxwell Hafner.
As time marched on, the magnitude of the moment intensified for Rockhurst.
“The first opportunity for the school to get a three-peat, first opportunity for the school to have a perfect season, first opportunity for the school to finish the season number one, that’s a ton of pressure on these 17-year-old kids,” Darby said.
During the final five minutes, Franke envisioned how the game would end.
“It was pretty nerve-wracking, but we’ve been in this situation before,” Franke said. “We knew we had to keep scrapping along and that a scrappy goal would happen.”
And thanks to Franke, that scrappy goal happened in the final five seconds, even though he needed confirmation from his teammates before celebrating.
For Farmer, the exceptional performance of Park Hill South on the championship stage against the best team in the nation was worthy of high praise.
“(Rockhurst) is a really, really good program and I’m so proud of our guys because we stuck toe-to-toe with them. It wasn’t like we packed it in and we were trying to play for penalties. I couldn’t be happier … unless we won,” Farmer said.
Darby shared in praising the effort of Park Hill South.
“They threw everything at us. They tried to eliminate a lot of things we do offensively. A lot of teams do that, and it’s tough to do for 80 minutes, but they did it better than any team has this whole year, so hats off to them,” Darby said.
And its the realization of a trifecta of firsts – first perfect season, first three-peat, and first time finishing a season ranked No. 1 in the nation – that secured this team’s place on page one of the Rockhurst history books.
“Our goal was to go undefeated, win state and be nationally-ranked in the top 5,” Franke said. “Now we’re No. 1.”