Platte County goalkeeper Paul Havemeier has a save in the Pirates’ 5-0 loss to Kansas City East on Nov. 1.
KANSAS CITY – Knocking off the No. 1 seed is never an easy task and Platte County (15-5) found that out the hard way, falling 5-0 to Kansas City’s East (16-2) in the Class 3 District 8 Soccer Championship at Pembroke High School on Nov. 1.
Having the season end on the wrong side of a shutout only one other time since 2014, this was an uncharacteristic ending to the fall for Platte County. The last scoreless postseason game for the Pirates was a 4-0 defeat to Smithville in the Class 3 District 16 Semifinals on Oct. 25, 2017.
The opening 23:16 of the matchup between the top-2 seeds in the Class 3 District 8 Tournament was scoreless. East got onto the scoreboard in the 23rd minute and went into the break with a 1-0 advantage.
The Bears had a huge scoring surge in an eight-minute sequence in the second half, finding the back of the net three times in that time frame. Starting with 33 minutes left in the second half and ending with 25 minutes remaining, East extended the lead to 4-0.
That deficit was too big for Platte County to dig out of as it failed to score at all. East added one last goal with less than 15 minutes on the clock.
The Bears ended the regular season with only two losses – one of which was to Park Hill South (17-2-1), one of the top teams in Class 4 – and the win over the Pirates was 13 straight. East got revenge on Platte County as the last meeting between the teams was a 3-0 Pirate win over the Bears in the first round of districts in 2021.
While the season has come to an end for Platte County, it had some high moments which includes a perfect 6-0 record at home and solid 6-2 record on the road. With eight seniors on the roster, Gavin Nichols is one of the most impactful ones having been a 4-year letterman.
Connor Currence, Daniel Bunge, Josh Nelson, Andrew Reinsch, A.J. Schrick, Calvin Thrasher and Fabian Risager filled out the talented Platte County senior class. Although the seniors’ careers end without a district title, they went to two district championships and led the team to 62 wins and only 22 losses since 2020.