Ross Martin
Special to the Citizen
For an instant, time seemed to stop for Aaron Cordova — no chance to overthink, no time to overreact. He just found himself in the right place at the right time.
In the final minute of the first half of overtime, a loose ball caromed into the path of the Platte County freshman at the back post. He didn’t hesitate to knock the ball into the open net to deliver the golden goal in the Pirates’ historic 1-0 victory over Grain Valley in a Class 3 quarterfinal played on a sun-splashed afternoon Saturday, Nov. 16 at Grain Valley High School.
Platte County had been at its most dangerous on set piece opportunities during a scoreless 80 minutes of regulation and the first part of sudden-death extra time. Fittingly, the winner sending the Pirates to state for the first time in program history came on a free kick from the right side of the field near the corner.
“The goal was wide open, 2 yards out, just tap it in. That’s all that’s going through my mind,” Cordova said of his game-winner in the 95th minute with less than 30 seconds remaining before the game would have continued with another overtime.
Platte County (25-1) beat Grain Valley by one goal for a third time this season — adding to 1-0 and 3-2 triumphs during Suburban Conference Blue Division play. The Pirates have now won nine straight since their lone loss on penalty kicks to Smithville. Four of those victories have come in overtime, including sectionals (at Van Horn) and quarterfinals (at Grain Valley).
Next up for Platte County: a trip to World Wide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton, Mo. for a Class 3 semifinal with fellow state debutante Neosho (18-7) at 1 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 22. The winner advances to the state final the next day against either Webster Groves (20-6) or Rockwood Summit (27-0-1).
Regardless, Platte County earned two more games and the first state trophy in program history.
“Throughout the season, they’ve just worked together. It’s that family atmosphere,” Platte County coach Ashlyn Brantley said. “They’ve come together, and they’ll put everything on the line. Each game, they never quit. We’ve been down, in these overtime situations; we’ve had PKs, the shootouts, and each time they just don’t quit. They’re here to work, and they want that win.”
Unlike the first two matchups with Grain Valley, the initial breakthrough didn’t come early. In fact, the Eagles were on the front foot early with a free kick in a dangerous position and shot from 25 yards out that forced Platte County senior goalkeeper Ian Lang into an awkward save — both in the first two minutes.
Platte County then settled in and started to create chances through pesky star senior midfielder Chase Peterson, who put an initial shot on target from a 31-yard free kick in the sixth minute. He added a looping free kick to force another save from Grain Valley senior goalkeeper Bryant Madden, who had four of his eight saves in the opening 10 minutes.
“I thought we were going to get one,” Peterson said. “We’re good off the start of the game, the first 10 minutes, so I thought we would get it again. Unfortunately, we didn’t.”
Outside of calls for a hand ball and a possible penalty kick on a chaotic scramble in the 10th minute, Platte County’s best chance of the first half came with senior Tanner Ride finding space in the box 35th minute but firing his left-footed shot straight at Madden.
The two teams went into halftime scoreless, and the deadlock held until a back-and-forth set of chances near the midway point.
First, Grain Valley sophomore midfielder Jade Quick made a mess of an opportunity on a counterattack in the 56th minute, curling a right-footed shot from left of the goal wide right. He would miss a point-blank sitter in the 73rd minute that appeared to be a sure goal, firing high over the bar and failing to challenge Lang (four saves).
“They kind of took us out of our game a little bit, and we got into that kickball game,” Brantley said. “That’s not our game, for sure. We’ve got to get it down, move it around, get our options so we can have opportunities such as the throw-ins and corner kicks, which are our strength.”
Platte County nearly went in front in the 62nd minute when senior central defender Grant Allen got forward again on a free kick and sent a hard cross to Cordova, who saw his header go high. The Pirates then pressured in the 79th minute with sophomore midfielder Luke Bunge hitting a right-footed shot from 24 yards that Madden just managed to tip over the bar.
On the ensuing corner kick, Platte County senior central defender Carter Hays hit his header over the bar, but the Pirates appeared to have the momentum going into overtime.
“Anything near the goal is what we want, and as long as we’re creating those opportunities, we’ve got to keep creating those opportunities,” Brantley said. “The more we do, the more chances we have of putting one in the back of the net. That’s how we build momentum.”
Instead, Grain Valley produced the better play early in the overtime, only to give up the winner in the waning seconds.
Platte County earned a free kick, and Peterson sent the ball toward the far post from the right side. Pirates sophomore Nathan Macaluso knocked the ball off the post and then intently watched as the ball found a vacated part of the box just yards away from the goal.
With Madden well out of position, Cordova was the first to the loose ball and made no mistake with the open net.
“At that point, I’m just trying to put it in the box and give us a chance to put it on goal,” Peterson said. “I saw Nate put it on target, and it bounced off the post. Aaron was wide open for the goal.”
“It was just exhausting,” Cordova added. “Everybody wanted the win, and we were going back and forth. We were all just giving it our all. It’s kind of crazy to think about. It’s just an amazing feeling.”
Prior to this season, Platte County only had three previous playoff appearances (2000, 2014 and 2016) but had never advanced past sectionals. Bunge provided the overtime winner to down Van Horn just three days before the matchup with Grain Valley. The Pirates continued their flair for the dramatic, and a roster with nine seniors now have two guaranteed chances to write the final chapter to the most successful season in the program’s two-decade history.
The senior class includes four-year starters in Hays and Allen, a mainstay in Ride, and a key cog two of the past three years in Peterson — younger brother of decorated all-stater Chandler Peterson, one of the most prolific scorers in Missouri history. During a 16-game win streak to start the season, the Pirates never lost sight of the ultimate goal and understood the rarity of these opportunities.
“Some of them were on those teams where we were just right there,” Brantley said. “So they definitely know, and we’ve been calling this our history-making season. Step by step, game by game, they are doing it and know how big it is but they still stay level-headed.”