Platte County’s season ends in frustrating district loss to Pembroke Hill

SMITHVILLE, Mo. — Platte County ended up as close to full strength as could be expected given the compounding circumstances of an arduous season.

Perhaps more continuity for a mostly inexperienced lineup lacking depth could have made a difference, but in the end, Pembroke Hill made a long-distance free kick goal early in the first half stand up in a 1-0 victory over the Pirates in a Class 3 District 8 semifinal Monday at Smithville High School. An at-times-promising season came to an end in the process.

Platte County finished with a record one game under .500 (11-12) while likely not reaching full potential with senior defender Cosette Stephenson (concussion), junior midfielder Marissa Orellana (back) and sophomore defensive midfielder Giada Cucchiara (shin) all dealing with injuries late in the season.

All three started and played a full 80 minutes against Pembroke Hill in what ended up the season finale, marking the first time all three were fully healthy since April 20.

“I think that’s part of high school soccer, too — just the inconsistency of it all and just having to piece it together,” “That’s what I told the girls. We love this game, and we play this game and today it didn’t go our way,” Platte County coach Ashlyn Brantley said. “They have to work with getting used to different types of players, but I think they did well. It was nice to have them all back, but I would have rather had them all season if we could.”

Platte County threw numbers forward late in the second half in search of an equalizer that could have force extra time but came up empty in a difficult scenario. Unsurprisingly, Pirates senior forward Sloan Kassen produced the best chances.

In the 64th minute, Kassen made a lightning quick move around the right edge of Pembroke Hill’s backline and cut inside but dragged her left-footed shot under press all the way across the face of goal and wide right. She also steered two headers toward goal in the closing minutes, the first without enough power to trouble the goalkeeper and the next missing the target.

Platte County ended up shut out for just the sixth time this season.

“We play this game, and we love this game, and sometimes it just doesn’t go your way,” Brantley said.

Pembroke Hill won the previous meeting between the two teams two weeks earlier by a score of 2-1, beating a shorthanded version of the roster after scoring the first two goals.

Platte County struck late in the loss through Kassen and nearly did so early in the rematch. In the eighth minute, she collected a ball in the middle of the field, split two defenders into the 18-yard box but ultimately poked a left-footed shot wide right.

A seemingly a positive sign for Platte County ended up being a noticeable missed opportunity based on the game’s progression.

Pembroke Hill went ahead 1-0 just five minutes later on a free kick from 46 yards out with senior Ava Rasmus standing over the ball and eventually launching a deliberate shot on goal. She ended up with the perfect amount of power, and the ball dipped just over the outreached hand of Platte County sophomore goalkeeper Finley Kaser, who attempted to time her jump in an effort to push the well-struck attempt over the bar.

“It was a good shot, and we’ve got to limit those chances (on set pieces),” Brantley said. “Yeah, it would be awesome to finish those type of chances (like Sloan’s early shot), and even toward the end when we have two or three chances where the ball is going right across the goal and with that momentum, a goal could make a difference. But sometimes it goes your way, and today, it didn’t go our way.”

Pembroke Hill continued to be dangerous on set pieces, while Platte County struggled to find extended spells of possession. The Pirates eventually found some openings, but Kassen scuffed a speculative attempt from 26 yards out wide in the 29th minute then later set up Orellana for perhaps the second-best clear chance they would produce.

In the 34th minute, Kassen’s pass opened Orellana into the box, but her right-footed attempt under heavy pressure went straight at Pembroke Hill freshman goalkeeper Tyler Pritchett, who made four saves.

Kaser then came up big twice to keep Platte County’s deficit at just one goal. She survived a scrum in front of the Pirates’ net in the 38th minute off of another free kick from deep that was whipped into the middle and precariously lingered in a dangerous spot before being cleared away.

After Platte County failed to produce a shot on goal with two set pieces early in the second half, Pembroke Hill again used a free kick to threaten in the 48th minute. Kaser dove well to her right and punched away a shot that threatened to double the lead.

“We’ve definitely had confidence in Finley all season,” Brantley said. “(The goal) isn’t on her. It was a great shot, and we’re going to give the player credit on that. She’s definitely stepped up and made super saves that have kept us in games. Right there, that kept us in the game and kept it close.”

Pembroke Hill later rattled the crossbar with a shot from just outside of the box but eventually settled into more of a defensive mode to protect the precarious lead.

Platte County pushed to extend the season but ultimately trudged off the field with a disappointing result. The Pirates had won 20 games in each of the previous two seasons but knew replacing a large, talented 2022 senior class would be difficult.

Platte County went into the season with only three seniors after three potential starters opted not to return to the lineup. Two of them were seniors.

With the turnover from last year, Platte County opened with five straight losses but ultimately started to gel behind a diverse offense and the developing backline that included Stephenson and junior Alex Beeman in the middle and a combination of junior Kaelyn Bellach and sophomores Madison Palmer and Annabel Beeman on the outside. Cucchiara also became the linchpin as the midfielder most often positioned in front of the defenders.

However, Platte County junior forward Carmen Gentilia opened the season as a starter but later opted to focus on track and didn’t return to the roster. Add in the back injury to Orellana in the North Kansas City Tournament and then the head injury for Stephenson and a potential stress fracture for Cucchiara, and Brantley ended up with limited options.

Platte County continued to make do with Kassen a versatile threat, mostly serving as a winger but with the ability to move central when needed. The Pirates surrounded her with various combinations of Orellana and sophomores Lauren Stone, Lily Kytasaari and Rylee Burris.

Eventually, Platte County also utilized junior Addison Sloan and freshman Saige Dickens in more prominent midfield roles, while senior Yaelis Rodriguez Castro, sophomore Alivia Juarez and freshman Kaylee Dixon all received cameos in defense or devensive midfield duties as injuries piled up.

Orellana returned late in the regular season, while Stephenson and Cucchiara did not come back from their injuries until Saturday’s district opener.

“It took us a couple of games to find it this season, but Sloan definitely took it and ran with it as our leader in attack. That speed that she has — oh, my gosh. She can take anyone on down the line, the middle, whatever,” Brantley said. “We’ll definitely miss our seniors, and we always do. But it’s time to see who steps up after them and gets the chances.”

Platte County said emotional goodbyes to the three seniors, especially Stephenson and Kassen. Stephenson fought through four injury-riddled seasons to play a key role in defense the past two seasons, first as a right back and then as a central defender. Kassen filled an obvious scoring void in her final season, significantly upping her production as a third-year contributor — partly out of necessity but also as a result of a dedicated process to improve her skills during what ended up an accomplished career.

After a COVID-19 canceled freshman season, Platte County’s current seniors were part of a playoff run in 2021, a second straight 20-win season in 2022 and then not allowing a significant dropoff with a roster clearly built for future success. The Pirates could return nine starters with optimism to make a stronger postseason push next spring.

“We should have a lot the next two season, and a lot of them are in our midfield and we can still get some of them in the attack as well,” Brantley said. “I think they’ll have that confidence, and moments like this (loss), they remember this and the feeling. They won’t want to end up like this again. It’ll motivate them and give them that passion to drive them forward.”

Platte County 8, Kansas City East 0

The Pirates advanced out of the first round with a comfortable win over the bracket’s No. 6 seed Saturday at Smithville High School.

Kassen ended up with a hat trick plus two assists for Platte County, while Kytasaari added a brace. Burris scored the opener in the second minute on an assist from Kassen and then set up her senior teammate’s game-clincher just three minutes into the second half. Kassen’s third goal ended the game on the eight-goal mercy rule.

Kaser made two saves in her 10th cleansheet of the season.

Kassen’s first two goals came in the eighth and 26th minutes, while Sloan, starting in place of Cucchiara, scored in the 14th minute off of a pass from Kytasaari, who later added her first goal in the 29th minute to make it a 5-0 lead. Stone scored in the 31st minute on an assist from Dickens, and after the Pirates took a 6-0 lead into halftime, they finished off the game with goals from Kytasaari and Kassen in the opening 8 minutes of the second half.

Stephenson started in the middle of defense for Platte County after missing the previous six games, while Cucchiara came off the bench after not playing in the final seven games of the regular season.