Kytasaari’s late PK helps Platte County earn 1st win over Grain Valley since 2019

Lily Kytasaari stepped to the penalty spot confident and fully prepared to reward the hard work from a teammate to provide the opportunity.

The deciding goal in a 3-2 win over Grain Valley on Wednesday night came from Platte County’s senior four-year starter, but senior forward Rylee Burris drew the foul in the 80th minute at Pirate Stadium to set up a dramatic conclusion between Suburban Conference White Division rivals. The Pirates let a two-goal lead slip away but took advantage of the penalty kick with just 56 seconds in regulation for their first win in the series since sweeping two matchups between the teams in 2019.

Winners of three straight, Platte County’s season started with a loss to Class 4 powerhouse Park Hill South on penalty kicks with Kytasaari the only player to convert for the Pirates in the shootout, making her an easy choice when the momentous chance came up against Grain Valley.

“I was ready,” Kytasaari said. “I knew I needed to put one back for our team because Rylee did everything she could to get that PK, and I wanted to make sure it meant something.”

Platte County (4-2) owns a three-game winning streak after sweeping conference matchups with Truman on Monday (7-0) and William Chrisman on Thursday (5-0) around the thrilling conclusion to Wednesday’s home matchup with the defending White Division champions.

Grain Valley (5-1), which won the season-opening Platte County Invitational, erased a 2-0 deficit in the first half before the break on a brace for star junior forward Radleigh Chlders, and the teams appeared headed for extra time until the closing sequence. Played into space, Burris broke toward goal when a defender made a desperate late tackle attempt and clearly brought her down from behind inside the 18-yard box.

Kytasaari confidently hit the penalty kick low and to the right to beat junior goalkeeper Alayna Maybell, who played an otherwise scoreless second half.

“Main goal was just low and hard, and I knew (Maybell) probably wouldn’t dive,” Kytasaari said.

Platte County took a 2-0 lead in the first half against Grain Valley sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Hays, who ended up subbed off after halftime. The breakthrough came after just five minutes through junior midfielder Saige Dickens, a three-year contributor in her first season as a full-time starter. She pressured in from her spot on the right and fired a hard shot from a right angle that Hays deflected but couldn’t keep out of the back of the net.

The sixth-place finisher in the season-opening home tournament, Platte County received a clear boost of confidence from dominating the early proceedings against a team with a five-game winning streak in the series, dating back to a 2021 victory in a Class 3 state quarterfinal prior to the Eagles moving up to Class 4.

“That was amazing,” Kytasaari said. “It was like the first 5 minutes. Getting Saige a goal was amazing; her shot was amazing, and it just really boosted our emotion the whole game.”

Grain Valley asked very few questions of a somewhat inexperienced Platte County defense in the opening segments of the first half, even with senior midfielder and Brooklynne Jenni and senior central defender Madison Palmer still out with injuries. The Pirates went with senior Annabel Beeman and freshman Emily Fadler in the middle, and senior Aliva Juarez — a first-year starter — and sophomore Caroline Linn on the outside to start with sophomore Bella Dean going in at right back and giving Juarez a brief break before halftime.

The best chance Grain Valley created for an equalizer while down one goal came in the 23rd minute when Fadler made a late recovery to force a difficult shot, which fourth-year starting senior goalkeeper Finley Kaser easily scooped up for one of her three saves.

Platte County came out of the key stretch not just with a lead but a 2-0 advantage after a well-played connection between attacking midfielder Lauren Stone and freshman sister Addison Stone in the 30th minute.

Lauren Stone cut in from the right and bypassed a shot from a difficult position to send a right-footed cross to Addison Stone unmarked at the back post. She sent a shot across the face goal that pinged in off the far right post.

“(We) came out strong and continued with that type of play throughout the majority of the first half,” Platte County coach Ashlyn Brantley said. “It’s always good to see that multiple players are able to get to the goal and finish, so that gives us confidence. I definitely think that first goal put it in their heads: we can get in behind and we’re right there with this team, and that second one just amped it up even more.”

Grain Valley only trailed for five more minutes.

First, Childers turned a seemingly harmless bit of possession into a solo move through the middle of Platte County’s defense that ended with a sliding shot that beat Kaser to pull the Eagles within one. Mere moments later, Childers hit a well-placed shot to draw the match level at 2-2.

The goals in the 34th and 35th minutes came after a deep moon ball shot from Burris nearly ended up in the net in what could have been a 3-0 Platte County lead, and the Pirates ended up needing a quick recovery just to get to the break tied.

“It was a lapse in focus for us,” Brantley said. “You could tell our play went down a little bit. We did make it to the end of the half, which was good, and they didn’t put their heads down and continued to work. Going into that second half, we knew we needed to pick it up again.”

Platte County’s defense tightened back after halftime, limiting chances mostly to set pieces.

Kaser smothered a shot off one of five Grain Valley corner kicks early in the second half, while Kytasaari sent a free kick from just under 20 yards out near the left corner of the penalty area just over the bar in the 56th minute. The Eagles ended up held to two goals for just the second time in six games, the other a 2-0 victory against Staley to win the Platte County Invitational.

Platte County senior defensive midfielder Giada Cucchiara continues to provide a noticeable difference in the back end, returning as a starter after missing all of her junior season while rehabbing a torn ACL.

“She’s our glue to everything,” said Kytasaari, who has moved between forward and attacking midfielder in her career — increasingly so the past two years due to injuries.

With the defense settled for the entirety of the second half, Platte County nearly scored the winner in the 77th minute when Addison Stone found herself free in the left-side of the box, only for Maybell to see a shot stick in her hands that appeared destined to slip through and find a way into the net. The Pirates then took advantage of the late penalty kick and easily killed off the final 56 seconds for a clearly meaningful regular season win after finishing under .500 in both 2024 and 2023 on the heels of a 22-win campaign in 2022 and the playoff berth in 2021.

“It’s definitely a big win for us,” Brantley said. “It’s been some years (since we beat Grain Valley). They thought this was going to be an easy game for them, and I’m glad our girls came out and proved them wrong. They’re going to have a vendetta against us when we see them again. We have the confidence and know that we can play with any team that comes up against us. We just have to go in smart and be consistent in our play, especially when we see them again.”

Platte County 7, Truman 0

Kytasaari scored a hat trick and Burris added a brace in Monday’s conference opener on the road against Truman in Independence.

Platte County led 2-0 at halftime before Kytasaari scored her second and third goals in the 56th and 58th minutes. Dickens increased the advantage to 6-0 in an assist from Addison Stone 3 minutes later, and Burris tallied both of her goals in the closing stretch — the second on an assist from sophomore reserve forward Macy Doll with just 57 seconds left.

Kytasaari put Platte County up 1-0 after 7 minutes, and Kiara Smith, a junior reserve midfielder who transferred into the program this season, scored her first goal with the Pirates off of Cucchiara’s corner kick 7 minutes before halftime. Kytasaari headed home a Dickens corner and converted a penalty kick to complete her hat trick.

Kaser made two saves in her first clean sheet of the season.

Platte County 4, William Chrisman 0

Kaser recorded a second cleansheet in a span of three games in Thursday’s conference matchup in Independence.

Platte County scored all four goals after halftime with Cucchiara, Addison Stone, Dickens and Kytasaari all scoring late to back the strong defensive effort. Cucchiara gave the Pirates a 1-0 lead with a deep strike, while Dickens’ cross set up Addison Stone moments later to double the advantage. Dickens’ goal came on a rebound off of a shot from Burris.

In a bit of good roster news, Platte County freshman reserve defender Katelyn Newberry received some late minutes and assisted Kytasaari late. Newberry suffered facial and head injuries in a Platte County Invitational consolation semifinal win over Raymore-Peculiar and had not played in the previous three games.