Platte County back to .500 after beating Central, 2-1 showing at NKC Invitational

Under ideal circumstances, Brooklynne Jenni undoubtedly plays a bigger role in attack.

Roster turnover and injuries have led to Platte County’s first-year junior transfer midfielder slotting into the defensive midfield role, but she continues to show a propensity for taking advantage of long-range strikes. The Pirates benefitted from her unique abilities in Monday’s bounceback 3-0 victory over Central (St. Joseph) at Pirate Stadium.

Jenni provided the opening goal on a memorable strike and contributed to Platte County’s fourth clean sheet of the season — a number that increased to six after a 2-1 showing later in the week in the NKC Invitational. The Pirates (6-6) have come back from an 0-4 start to hit .500 after 12 games.

The win over Central came after a 2-0 loss in Suburban Conference White Division play to Grain Valley four days earlier that ended a four-game winning streak.

The teams were scoreless in the early going, although Platte County dominated the early chances. Lily Kytasaari, the junior two-way midfield engine, used a delicately placed throughball to put senior midfielder Addison Sloan in a one-on-one situation in the 10th minute, but the shot went directly at Indians senior goalkeeper Brooke Gerling for an easy save.

Jenni actually nearly scored on a free kick shot from 42 yards out, moments before the opening goal in the 16th minute.

After another Central foul, Kytasaari used the restart to lay the ball off to Jenni, who took one heavy touch and blasted a shot into the upper half of the net from 30 yards away. Platte County’s 1-0 lead held up until halftime with the Pirates holding a lot of possession with few obvious chances in the final third.

Instead, many of Platte County’s shots came from distance, including a pair of shots from junior forward Rylee Burris and another speculative effort from Kytasaari.

Platte County finally unlocked Central’s defense in the 51st minute when Sloan poked a ball into the middle from the right side. Burris picked out the ball with a one-time shot that again beat Gerling high to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead.

Central gaffed in the 54th minute with a mistake that sent the ball into its own net for what ended up the third and final goal. Platte County junior defender Madison Palmer nearly scored on two different shots off of corner kicks late in regulation, and the game ended with about 3 minutes left after a pending lightning delay with coaches agreeing to cancel the remainder.

Platte County allowed few chances with the defensive backline of senior Alex Beeman and junior Madison Palmer in the middle plus senior Kaelyn Ballach on the left and junior Annabel Beeman on the right continuing to gel. The Pirates also used junior Alivia Juarez and freshman Caroline Linn on the outside in large chunks, but junior goalkeeper Finley Kaser needed to make only two saves in the first of her three shutouts on the week.

Jenni also plays a crucial role in the defense with freshman Mila Cucchiara occasionally spelling her or allowing her to move forward.

Platte County junior Giada Cucchiara started in the defensive midfield role but her status to return in some capacity remains uncertain while coming back from offseason surgery to repair a torn ACL. The Pirates have utilized freshman Amela Dzilic in the attacking midfield along with senior Marissa Orellana, who did not play Monday, and sophomore Saige Dickens as starters on the outside but could add depth if Giada Cucchiara can play a role at some point this season.

NKC Invitational

Platte County finished third after winning two games in a span of three days at North Kansas City District Activities Complex. The Pirates closed with a 2-0 victory over Harrisonville on Saturday morning on goals from Dickens and Burris.

In the 20th minute, Platte County took the lead with Jenni’s corner kick finding Dickens. Burris doubled the advantage in the 64th minute, and Kaser held the shutout. The Pirates entered off of a 2-0 loss to Kearney in Friday’s semifinal. The Bulldogs have won both matchups between the teams this season — results likely key to the seeding in Class 3 District 8.

Platte County and Kearney played a scoreless regulation in the season-opening Pirate Invitational, and the Bulldogs prevailed on penalty kicks.

In Thursday’s opener, Platte County topped Oak Park 1-0 to move into the championship bracket. The Pirates last won this tournament in 2022 with a dramatic late goal to beat Smithville.