Platte County sophomore Lauren Stone (#22) battles for possession with St. Pius X junior Lauren Vogt (#24) in the Lady Warriors 4-0 upset win in the first round of the Pirate Invitational on March 20.
Starting the season off in its home tournament, the Pirate Girls’ Soccer Invitational, Platte County (0-1) had a different first-round result than in years past as the Lady Pirates lost 4-0 to St. Pius X (0-1) on March 20.
Having finished in third place in each of the last two years, the Lady Pirates are on the losing side of the bracket for the first time since 2019, which was the last time they lost a season opener. This was an uncharacteristic defensive outing for a team that only allowed nine goals all of last year and never had an opponent scores more than two in any game.
“What we told them is it’s not how we want to open the season, but we need to have a short memory,” Platte County girls’ soccer coach Ashlyn Brantley said. “The only things we need to take from this game are the things that we did wrong, and we’re going to make them better in the next two games that we have today.”
Platte County junior Carmen Gentilia attempts to split a pair of St. Pius X defenders in the Lady Pirates’ season opener.
The last time Platte County allowed four goals in regulation was 2017, but St. Pius found the back of the net three times in the opening half alone. The Lady Warriors scored their first two goals on putback shots after Finley Kaser blocked the attempts and then Grayson Vicant struck from the left side with right under 11 minutes in the first half and Platte County trailed 3-0 at the break.
“At the beginning, maybe it was first game jitters, but not after the second and third goal. We just need to go out there and start executing things that we know like staying full side, knowing when to clear it out and playing balls right down the middle that can cause trouble. It’s things that are fixable that we just need to be more consistent on that side of it,” Brantley said.
Sloan Kassen had a pair of shots on goal in the second half of the first round of the Pirate Invitational.
The Lady Warriors were the No. 6 seed in the tournament and the Lady Pirates were the No. 3 seed, but March Madness translated to the soccer field. Platte County only had two shot attempts in the first half as St. Pius owned the time of possession.
“They (St. Pius) had good possession, but we weren’t stepping to them quick enough and we were just playing a little bit slow. Everything we did, whether on the defensive side or the attacking side, it was just a little slow,” Brantley said.
Platte County was more aggressive in the second half, getting eight shot attempts – four of which were on goal – but failed to convert on any. Sloan Kassen had a pair of opportunities in the 46th and 49th minutes, but the windy conditions were too tough for the Lady Pirates to get on the scoreboard.
Finley Kaser has a goal kick in the Lady Pirates’ 4-0 loss.
“We were outside (practicing) the other day, it affects the game, but they (St. Pius) adapted a little better than we did. In the second half they still managed to score and get chances on their side,” Brantley said.
After losing some of the top offensive players from a year ago, Platte County is still searching for some players to fill in those spots. Offensive woes aren’t something that the Lady Pirates are accustomed to – having averaged at least 3.1 goals per game in each of the last seven seasons – but they will have plenty of time the rest of the season to try and find some offense.
Giada Cucchiara battles for possession with Kendra Roberts on March 20.
“We miss those goal scorers that we had, but this is a chance where other players need to step up. We’re young but they’ve been playing their whole life, so they know the game. It’s just getting us to fill those gaps and just start working together again,” Brantley said.
St. Pius scored the final goal of the game with 6:14 left in regulation to end the scoreless second half. Platte County is set to finish the tournament with two more games before heading to Staley (1-0) on March 29.