Meet the KC Star/810 Varsity Team of the Week: Rockhurst Hawklets High School soccer
National champs.
Yeah, Rockhurst soccer likes the ring of that.
The Hawklets were deemed national champions by the United Soccer Coaches (and other entities) after winning the Missouri Class 4 state boys high school soccer title in Fenton last weekend.
Rockhurst (24-0-0) needed some last-second heroics to secure the state championship — the Hawklets’ third in as many years.
After coasting to a 6-0 win over John Burroughs in the semifinals last Friday at World Wide Technology Soccer Park, Rockhurst faced Park Hill South in the title match.
It was tied 1-1 and the match was seemingly headed to overtime. But Teddy Franke corralled a ricochet in front of the Panthers’ goal, then opportunistically toed the ball past the Park Hill South defense for the winning goal with just 5 seconds left.
“I’m so happy for all the seniors,” Hawklets coach Matt Darby said. “The night before, we played a beautiful game and everything was clicking on all cylinders.
“Then Saturday, against a really good Park Hill South team, they threw everything at us and gave us the biggest test we had all year. We found a way to battle through it. It may not have been our best performance, but we had to dig our deepest in that game.”
This week, the day before Thanksgiving, Rockhurst was crowned the national champion by the United Soccer Coaches organization. The Hawklets had a plus-93 goal differential in 2023.
“A lot of people look at it and think its crazy to see a team from KCMO on top,” Rockhurst senior Baka Kante said. “It’s not something we expected going into the season, but (it’s) something to definitely be proud of.”
Senior Brooks Barrett was asked the best part of his career as a Hawklet.
“Three rings, and definitely brotherhood,” he said. “Its been unbelievable.”
For scores, brackets, stats, recaps, rankings, broadcasts and more, visit 810Varsity.com.
