There's been no easing off the gas for Parkview Baptist's two-time reigning Division III state champion soccer team.
The Eagles have had their foot to the floor with a 2024 schedule chocked full of Division I and II challenges that included a season-opening win over St. Joseph's Academy.
Parkview Baptist took that a step further Tuesday night, hosting reigning seven-time Division II state champion St. Thomas More that turned on Karis Phillippe's first-half goal and held up under a smothering defensive effort in a 1-0 victory at Parkview.
"The more competition in a game, the more fun, the better," Phillippe said. "You don't get better playing teams that it's a given. You're only going to get better when you're playing against good competition."
Parkview (4-0) had already defeated Division I foes Mandeville (3-1) and St. Joseph's (3-2) and St. Scholastica (3-1) of Division II. The Eagles' victory over St. Thomas More (2-1-2) matched the Cougars loss total of 2023-24 when they were also last shut out -- both by St. Joseph's.
"We're talking about the best program in the state this last decade," Parkview coach Rafael Nunes said. "They are the team that doesn't get beaten very easily, and it's difficult for them not to score."
The result was greeted warmly by first-year STM coach Katie Breaux, an assistant the past eight years to Daniel Underwood who resigned in March.
"To be honest, we did better than we thought," Breaux said. "Coming into this season, we have a whole new backline, we just got our volleyball player (Ryhan Miciotto) back, plugged in a freshman that wasn't on the team originally. There's a lot of new moving parts. I'm very happy with the result."
Parkview controlled the match throughout, limiting STM to one shot in the first half and four overall (three on goal).
Goalkeeper Claire David registered her first shutout of the season and wound up with two saves.
The Eagles had 10 of their 17 shots in the first half. Phillippe delivered what proved to be the game-winner in the 14th minute. They finished with 15 of 17 shots on goal.
Kansas signee Faith Johnson assisted Phillippe for a one-time effort from 12 yards out, beating STM goalkeeper Rylie LeBlanc (10 saves) on an aerial shot into the left side of the goal.
"It was kind of a blur," Phillippe said of her first goal of the season. "Faith did the work. I got down the line and I just happened to run into the right spot at the right time."
STM created three scoring chances in the last 30 minutes, including a corner kick that was cleared out. Lyza Peterman fed Aubrey Cassidy, an all-state selection, but her cross into the box was saved by David with 11 minutes to go.
"We made history, but we've got to be humble," Nunes said of his team's win over STM. "It's another step toward our big goal, which is to win state again."