It always feels good to get the first win of the season. It’s even sweeter when it comes at the expense of your rival. That was what the Platte County girls soccer team did last Friday when it topped Staley 1-0 in the third place match of the season-opening Platte County Invitational at Pirates Stadium. Kylee Castro scored the only goal of the game when she took a pass from Brooke Zenner and found the net in the second half. “It always feels good to get a win at home, especially against a team like Staley,” Platte County coach Ashlyn Brantley said. “The team has been showing well. It is still early and we still have a bit to work on, but the girls are motivated and working hard in practice.” The win enabled the Lady Pirates to overcome two matches without a win - a scoreless tie against Harrisonville in the tourney opener and a 2-0 loss to Blue Springs in the semifinals. Platte County’s goalkeeping was solid all week: in the Staley win, Emilee Mitchell and Ava White shared time in goal; while Mitchell gave up the two goals in the Blue Springs loss. Blue Springs won the tourney with a 1-0 decision over Liberty North. Overall, Brantley said it was a decent start to the season. “We need to start finishing the chances we create,” Brantley said. “We like to play defense all over the field and that has been working good for us. I’m not surprised at our goalkeeper play.” Platte County was scheduled to play host to Kearney April 1 and will travel to Raytown South April 3. The Lady Pirates return home April 7 to face Smithville.

The Platte County Citizen