Park boys soccer: Wolfpack tie Raptors to end regular season

After a strong start to the year, the Park boys soccer team hit the skids, but ended things off on a fairly good note last week.

Park earned a 2-2 tie with District 833 and Suburban East Conference rival East Rdge in the regular-season finale on Thursday at Wolfpack Stadium.

Park senior Cody Newton had a goal and an assist in the draw with the Raptors (9-5-2; 3-5-1 SEC). Senior Evan Karels scored Park’s other goal, while junior Arik Kruzeski and senior Nick Hajovy each tallied assists.

“Our seniors came out and set the tone well for the match by putting in a goal in the first ten minutes,” Park head coach Jason Arnebeck said. “It was great to see them end their last home game on such a positive note and end their senior year without losing to either in-district rival.”

Arnebeck called the game “a tale of two halves.”

“Each team scored with the 30 mile-per-hour winds at their back,” he said. “When defending, each team was just hopeful to minimize the damage an opponent could put on the other while facing constant pressure.”

For the year, after starting the season 4-2, Park went 1-8-1 to finish the year 5-10-1 overall and 3-5-1 in the conference, which was good for seventh place. The rough patch was costly in the postseason seeding. The Wolfpack was dealt the No. 7 seed in the eight-team Section 3AA tournament and draws second-seeded Apple Valley in the opening round on Tuesday. The Eagles (12-1-3) are ranked No. 4 in the state. However, Park played them to a 1-0 loss earlier in mid-September. Eastview, 9-2-5 overall and ranked fifth in the state, is the section’s top seed.

“In sections the records are thrown out the window and we have a chance to start anew,” Arnebeck said.

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