Undefeated season for Kingwood Park soccer ends without a trip to state
HOUSTON (BVM) — This boys soccer season was about redemption for the Kingwood Park Panthers. After a 4-3 loss to Sharpstown in the 2019 Region III-5A final, the squad’s top priority was to get over the hump in 2020. Unfortunately, this talented group would have their season end prematurely as COVID-19 broke out across the country.
Founded in 2007, Kingwood Park High School started at the 4A level and would make the move up to 5A in 2014. Being a 5A school means your athletes are going to face better competition every night, and the Panthers soccer team was up for the challenge.
With a 16-8-7 record in 2009, the club proved that they were a legitimate 4A team. In 2010, they won 27 games, which is still the program record today. The Panthers lost in the 4A state championship that year.
After the move to 5A, the soccer team would struggle to win games. Following their reclassification, Ryan Searle would take over head coaching duties. From 2014 to 2016 the program averaged just six wins.
While the team underperformed during those seasons, the Panthers would quickly improve their play. The 2017 season saw the club post 18 wins. From 2017 to 2019, the average amount of wins would jump to 17.
In 2019, the team celebrated 22 wins, which is the second-best win total posted in the program’s history. With a talented group of juniors, the Panthers would fall to Sharpstown in the regional finals. As this group posted the second-best win total in Kingwood Park history, they would set out to make it to state in 2020.
As KPHS started the season, they proved to be a wrecking ball on the pitch. In the first 10 matches the Panthers scored an average of five goals per game. The Panthers scored over 100 goals this season. While their offense cashed in, Kingwood Park’s defense only allowed 15 goals through 21 games. With the strong core of 15 seniors and a handful of other talented players, the Panthers were out for blood.
They continued their winning ways until they were one win away from tying last year’s win mark. Sitting at 21-0, the Panthers were staring at history.
As the No. 1 team in the district, Kingwood Park was on track to have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and was poised to make a run at the state title. As the Panthers were making their historic run, the COVID-19 disease forced their season to come to a standstill for a month before the UIL announced the cancelation of remaining spring activities and state championships.
“Our staff had been working hard on plans to resume activities this spring, but without schools in session, interscholastic activities cannot continue,” said UIL Executive Director Dr. Charles Breithaupt. “Our highest priority during this challenging time is ensuring the health and safety of our students and communities and making progress in the containment of COVID-19 in Texas. We are now turning our attention to the 2020-2021 school year.”
