Platte County and Grain Valley entered the final pool play match of the Platte County Invitational knowing where each other stood.
Both teams were 0-0-1 with ties coming against Liberty North. The winner would earn a spot in the finals or if it was a tie, then it would go down to a tiebreaker situation.
A pair of goals a minute apart by Grain Valley kept the latter from happening.
The Eagles scored in the 45th and 46th minutes and held on for a 2-1 victory at Pirate Stadium on Tuesday, March 20.
Grain Valley went up when Kailey Larson’s shot went past Platte County goalkeeper Jaylee Wiedmer, who was diving to her right to stop the low shot that snuck inside the post.
CODY THORN/Citizen photo
Platte County’s Destinee Smith (20) and Liberty North’s Abby Bray (9) go up for a header in Monday night’s game at Pirate Stadium. Also converging on the play for the Pirates is Bailey Bologna, far left, while Liberty North helpers included Julia Johnson, back, Hayden Paulson (13) and Alexis Mutzbauer (10). The teams played to a 0-0 tie in pool play of the tournament that concludes on Wednesday, March 20.
After the restart, Platte County passed the ball backwards and Grain Valley attacked and sent a shot toward the goal. The ball bounced off the top crossbar and Kailey Boyer was there for an easy goal.
Platte County got its first goal of the season in the 58th minute. Destinee Smith scored the marker on a pass from Bailey Bologna.
The Pirates had a chance to tie the game with 6 minutes left but two scoring chances were turned back by the Eagles, a future Suburban Conference Blue Division foe for the Pirates.
The Eagles goalkeeper, Reagen Beeding, fell down while trying to stop an attack and that left the goal wide open. A shot was deflected by a Grain Valley defender. Platte County got another shot at the goal, but it went wide right.
The Pirates now face Blue Springs in the fifth-place game, scheduled for 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21.
The Wildcats beat St. Pius X Monday night to advance to that game.
“It will be a tough game,” Platte County coach Ashlyn Brantley said.
The teams last played in 2015, with Blue Springs winning 4-0.
Platte County 0
Liberty North 0
The soccer season opened with a draw for Platte County.
The Pirates started the season hosting their invitational and play started for the hosts on Monday, March 19, against Liberty North.
The two teams played to a 0-0 tie after 80 minutes in pool play action.
Both team had scoring chances, but neither could find the back of the net. For Liberty North, it was the second straight tie, splitting with Grain Valley 1-1 on Saturday, March 17.
Liberty North and Platte County — two teams that had a combined for 36 wins last year and both reached the district finals — each had only a handful of shots on goal.
“It was a midfield game, possession at that moment depending who was in the attacking half,” Platte County coach Ashlyn Brantley said. “They got us there in the middle in the first and second half. We had a little lull and wasn’t keeping the ball. We need to continue to possess to create more chances.
“It was not a bad first game. You wish you could put it in (the net) but they are a good team. It shows what we need to work on and all the things we are doing well.”
Platte County had its best opportunity to score early in the second half. Destinee Smith had a shot in the 18-yard boxbox, but the attempt went off the right crossbar.
The Pirates had two other shots on goal in the final 40 minutes.
“We talked at half we didn’t have clear shots on frame and in the second half, we know they were trying to create those opportunities,” Brantley said. “They were putting forth the effort and trying.”
Jaylee Wiedmer picked up the shutout for the Pirates, which started two freshmen.