The Forest Park Rangers closed out the regular season Thursday night, October 1, with a hard-fought battle against the Gibson Southern Titans. With the postseason just around the corner, the Rangers entered the match looking to build momentum—and they did exactly that, holding on for a 2-1 victory. The Rangers came out ready for a battle and controlled much of the early portion of the first half. Forest Park applied pressure from the opening whistle and looked to use its speed to create opportunities against the Titans. Just five and a half minutes into the match, junior Hunter Osborne broke free down the wing before cutting toward goal. Osborne fired a hard shot that the Gibson Southern goalkeeper was able to save, but the rebound fell right to fellow junior Lucas Dooley. Dooley calmly finished the opportunity to give the Rangers an early 1-0 lead. Dooley wasn't finished. In the 19th minute, senior defender Tucker Wathen sent a long ball forward to Dooley, who made a run behind the Titans' defense. Dooley brought the ball down, attacked the goal and once again calmly found the back of the net. His second goal of the night pushed the Rangers' lead to 2-0 just 20 minutes into the match. The Titans answered just two minutes later, finding the back of the net off a set piece to cut the Rangers' lead to 2-1. Both teams continued to battle for the remainder of the opening half, with each side looking for another breakthrough, but neither team was able to add to the scoreboard before halftime. Forest Park recorded six first-half shots, while goalkeeper Dexter Meyer was called upon five times to keep the Titans off the board. The second half became a true "bend, don't break" effort for the Rangers. Gibson Southern controlled much of the possession and pushed forward in search of the equalizer. Forest Park was forced to spend extended stretches defending while looking for opportunities to strike on quick transitions. The Rangers had several quality chances to find a third goal, but the Titans' goalkeeper came up with multiple strong saves to keep Gibson Southern within striking distance. On the other end, Meyer continued to come up big when the Rangers needed him most. The junior goalkeeper recorded four more massive saves in the second half, helping Forest Park preserve its one-goal advantage. When the final whistle sounded, the Rangers had held on for the 2-1 victory. The win moves Forest Park to 11-5 overall and 8-3 in the PAC, marking a historic achievement for the program. The Rangers have now won eight or more PAC games in a season for the first time in program history. Forest Park will finish the regular season tied for third place in the conference alongside Gibson Southern and Washington. With the regular season officially in the books, the Rangers now turn their attention to the postseason. Forest Park will return to Best Home Furnishing Field next Thursday night for a sectional matchup against Evansville Day School. The regular season is over. The postseason battle begins now.