After a splitting a pair of tough nonconference games, Platte County finished off a tough week with a big win over Raytown.
The Pirates scored three times in the first half Monday, May 8 at Pirate Stadium, coasting to a comfortable 4-0 victory. They played ranked opponents Notre Dame de Sion (loss) and Pembroke Hill (win) the prior week in what turned into a lengthy break from Suburban Conference Blue Division play.
NICK INGRAM/Citizen photo
Platte County junior midfielder Hanna Hall battles a Raytown defender for the ball while driving toward goal Monday, May 8 at Pirate Stadium.
Platte County closes the regular season Thursday, May 11 at Kearney, needing a win to split the league title with the Bulldogs. From there, Class 3 District 16 play starts with a semifinal against Smithville on Monday, May 15 in Smithville, Mo. with a win and season sweep of the Warriors likely meaning another matchup with Kearney in the district final.
The off days are over.
“Especially getting toward the end of the season, we’re getting to a point where we want to make sure that we’re continuing to go hard throughout the game,” Platte County coach Ashlyn Brantley said. “That’s what we want the whole season is to be consistent, and I think we’re finally getting to that point.”
In the 15th minute against Raytown, Platte County junior midfielder Hanna Hall connected with Destinee Smith for a tap-in goal to put the Pirates up 1-0. They didn’t extend the lead until the end of the first half when junior Haylie Jerome set up Hall for a goal that doubled the advantage in the 35th minute.
Platte County junior Bailey Bologna completed the late first half surge with the first of her two goals coming in the 36th minute.
“I think the momentum built off the first goal,” she said.
Bologna scored her second goal in the 59th minute, and Platte County freshman goalkeeper Jaylee Wiedmer recorded a shutout of Raytown, which created limited chances.
Now, the work starts again. Kearney won the first matchup with Platte County 1-0 on a golden goal in double overtime. The Pirates defeated Smithville in their only meeting this season but needed penalty kicks.
“We’re ready for it,” Bologna said. “We’re definitely excited for Kearney, and we’ve been working pretty hard so we’ll see.”
Platte County 1, Pembroke Hill 0
Kianna Castro’s long-range strike in the first half stood up for the Pirates in a nonconference match Thursday, May 4 in Kansas City, Mo.
Wiedmer made sure the lead held for the final 66 minutes despite a late barrage from Pembroke Hill, ranked No. 3 in the most recent Missouri State High School Soccer Coaches Association Class 2 poll. In the closing seconds, Wiedmer came out and collected a loose ball for a final save despite a Raiders forward coming in and making hard contact with her.
Pembroke Hill took six free kicks in the closing stretch of the game, but Wiedmer kept out all of the set-piece opportunities.
Castro’s goal came in the 14th minute on a shot from 20-plus yards away. The 1-0 lead came after Platte County suffered a 5-0 loss to Class 3 No. 1-ranked Notre Dame de Sion two days earlier.