Brantley’s 200th career victory comes in NKC semifinal ahead of title game loss

Less than 24 hours after delivering a milestone victory for coach Ashlyn Brantley against one rival, Platte County could not keep the counter moving in another frustrating loss to a different nemesis.

Smithville struck late in each half for a 2-0 win to pull a season sweep and take the North Kansas City Tournament title on a cold, windy Saturday morning at North Kansas City District Activities Complex in Kansas City. Platte County struck late through sophomore Lauren Stone the night prior to gut out a 1-0 shutout over Kearney — the 200th career win for Brantley with the Pirates against a team she historically struggles to beat since taking over the program in the 2010 season.

All three games of the tournament ended up being rematches for Platte County, which currently owns a 7-7 record.

Importantly, Platte County improved to 2-1 against Kearney on the season but now sits at 0-2 against Smithville, which will be the favorite to take the top seed in Class 3 District 8. The Warriors advanced out of the bracket last year on the way to finishing third in state

Platte County had moved above .500 for the first time on the season with the win over Kearney, which has now lost eight of nine meetings between the two teams over the past three seasons. Even with the loss to Smithville, the Pirates have still won seven of the last nine after an 0-5 start to the season that included losses to both rivals they saw this weekend.

Smithville scored goals in the 34th and 71st minutes for the 2-0 shutout, avenging a loss from last year’s NKC title game between the same two teams.

Platte County, Kearney and Smithville have recently been in the Suburban Conference Blue Division together, leading to at least two meetings a year in addition to common tournaments. The Pirates beat Kearney four times and split two with Smithville in 2021 on the way to a playoff berth that ended with a loss to Grain Valley in the state quarterfinals.

Smithville won three of four over Platte County last year with the lone loss a comeback effort for the Pirates in last year’s NKC title game, also played in cold, windy conditions.

Platte County 1, Kearney 0

Repeated turnovers finally caught up to the Bulldogs in Friday night’s semifinal with Stone striking for the matchup’s lone goal in the 59th minute at NKCDAC.

Platte County sophomore goalkeeper Finley Kaser made five total saves to earn her sixth clean sheet of the season, all recorded in a stretch of seven games. Both teams enjoyed productive spells of possession, but the Pirates were most dangerous on counterattacks, especially off of miscues.

Kearney committed back-to-back turnovers in quick succession in the 58th and 59th minutes.

On the first, Platte County senior forward and leading scorer Sloan Kassen set up Stone for a shot from 19 yards out that resulted in only a half chance and a comfortable save. Moments later, Stone took possession and moved in for a one-on-one opportunity and comfortably slid a right-footed shot past the onrushing goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead and deserved breakthrough.

Chances were limited from that point, although Platte County ended up needing to protect Kaser on a pair of late corners and one other set piece opportunity that didn’t create any clear-cut opportunities on goal.

Afterward, Brantley gave her normal postgame speech before the players surprised her with a special gift commemorating her 200th career victory at Platte County. A black long-sleeve shirt with an orange script “CC” — Roman numerals for 200 — on the front aimed to be simple to match her preferred style.

Platte County also created the first clear-cut shot on goal in the 18th minute, and not surprisingly, the connection involved Kassen and sophomore forward Lily Kytasaari.

After a lengthy dribble in the middle of the field, Kytasaari slipped a through ball to spring Kassen down the right side, but her well-struck right-footed shot fluttered in the wind and skimmed the crossbar before going over. A Kearney turnover gave Kassen a second shot in the 21st minute, but the speculative attempt from 25 yards out stayed high.

Kaser made a pair of key saves in the first half. Not challenged until the 28th minute when she went low to smother a harmless shot, she provided the most critical moment in late in the first half. Kearney’s best passing combination ended with senior Maddi Stevens open in the box for a shot that ended up hit well but right at Kaser, who slowed the shot and then quickly corralled it without a spill.

Platte County came right back to the other end and earned a foul for a dangerous free kick 21 yards out. Kytasaari ran by and touched the ball to allow junior midfielder Marissa Orellana to hit a right-footed shot that didn’t have enough power to trouble Kearney’s goalkeeper.

With an already thin depth chart, Platte County lost Orellana seconds into the second half with an apparent back injury, leading to increased minutes for junior Addison Sloan and freshman Saige Dickens. Prior to the goal, the Pirates’ best moment in the second half came on a long ball over the top in the 47th minute. Kytasaari latched on but her final touch on the breakaway ended up heavy, and Kearney’s goalkeeper came out with a slide tackle to snuff out the chance.

Platte County 2, William Chrisman 0

The Pirates recorded their second shutout of this Suburban Conference White Division foe behind second-half goals for Stone and fellow sophomore forward Rylee Burris on Thursday at NKCDAC — starting the stretch of three tournament games in three days.

The two teams had met exactly two weeks earlier with Platte County winning that matchup 4-0 in league play. Their return White Division fixture will be in early May.

William Chrisman managed just three shots total, and Kaser made a pair of saves. Platte County started somewhat slowly but were persistent with 13 total shots. The breakthrough for the Pirates came seven minutes into the second half on a connection between Kassen and Burris. Just six minutes later, Orellana connected with Stone to make it 2-0.