Platte County suffers another tough loss to Highway 92 rival
Superman had kryptonite.
Sampson had Delilah. The Platte County girls soccer team’s weakness the past several years has been Smithville. The Lady Warriors have the Lady Pirates’ number and they dialed it up once again Monday night, 1-0, in a non-conference battle at Pirates Stadium in Platte City. The win was Smithville’s sixth straight in the series, including regular-season and district tourney battles. The last Platte County win came in 2010, when the Lady Pirates advanced to the final four state playoffs. “The matches have been close each time we play Smithville, with overtime or penalty kick shootouts, and we always expect it to be a battle,” Platte County coach Ashlyn Brantley said. Monday night’s contest certainly followed the script, with the two teams engaging in a tough defensive struggle. Smithville’s Kelsey Mothershead snuck a penalty kick past Platte County goalkeeper Emilee Mitchell with about three-and-one-half minutes left in the first half and the Warriors made it stand up. “Last night was a tough loss, but I believe we showed well,” Brantley said. “We came out stronger than we had in the previous games and moved the ball like we have been practicing. We have played them better than we had in a while and we were proud of our girls for that. We need to work on being more creative in our attack and finishing our chances because against good teams – like Smithville – we may not get many, so we have to capitalize on those moments.” The loss dropped Platte County to 2-3-1 overall, including a 1-1 conference mark. The Pirates split two matches last week, losing 4-0 to Kearney April 1 before pummeling Raytown South 7-0 April 3. At Raytown, Teryn Scott and Addie Jenkins each had two goals apiece, while Keeley Audas, Katana Audas and Kylee Castro each scored goals. Mitchell posted the shutout in goal. Platte County will host Raytown South April 10 and Grandview April 14. • PARK HILL SOUTH lost all three games it played in the Olathe Northwest Invitational last week: 5-0 to Shawnee Mission South, 3-1 to Blue Valley North and 2-0 to Olathe Northwest. During the tournament, head coach Joe Toigo had sophomore Haley Mills and freshman Brooke Montgomery splitting halves at goal keeper. “(The) team is improving,” Toigo said. “We have modified our style to take advantage of the girls’ talents, and we have seen great progress even though we haven’t had much time to practice together.” South will host Ruskin Friday. • PARK HILL beat Winnetonka 1-0 on Friday with a goal from Jenna Winebrenner. “Highlights of the season so far have been how well the entire team is working together,” Trojans coach Brandt Bell said. “Everyone has made key contributions and stepped up when called on.”