The goals came in bunches in Tuesday’s final regular season game at home, allowing for some recalibration ahead of the real challenge.
Platte County senior defender Annabel Beeman hits a shot that resulted in a goal after caroming off the Ruskin goalkeeper Tuesday at Pirate Stadium.
Seven different Platte County players scored in an 11-0 rout of Ruskin ended at halftime due to the goal-differential mercy rule in the Suburban Conference White Division matchup at Pirate Stadium. The Pirates were so dominant that three of the four starting defenders collected goals, including the first two of the season for senior center back Annabel Beeman, as players rotated into different positions with the proceedings well under control.
Platte County (18-3) then closed the regular season with a 5-0 road shutout of Belton on Thursday with senior goalkeeper Finley Kaser recording her 15th cleansheet of the season.
Next up, Platte County starts play in one of the toughest eight-team postseason brackets in the state. The Pirates earned the No. 3 seed and still draws a team with a winning record in the first round.
In fact, five of the eight teams in Class 3 District 8 have at least 14 wins entering play in Class 3 District.
Platte County senior midfielder Giada Cucchiara takes a shot against Ruskin on Tuesday at Pirate Stadium.
Platte County and sixth-seeded Lincoln Prep (8-7) play at 6 p.m. Monday at Pirate Stadium with the semifinals scheduled for Wednesday and the championship game Friday — both rounds at Van Horn High School in Independence. St. Pius X (18-3) earned the top spot and owns a win over the Pirates, while Pembroke Hill (14-3), the defending champion, looms as a possible semifinal opponent.
That leaves Van Horn (16-6) and Kearney (14-7) in the 4-5 matchup trying to earn a shot at St. Pius X, which moved up from Class 2 due to the private school multiplier and has not lost to a Class 3 opponent this season.
Platte County faced little resistance in the final week of the regular season and goes into district play on a three-match winning streak since a loss to Grain Valley forced a share of the conference title, but the Pirates needed the results over Ruskin and Belton to make the split official. They needed only eight goals to end the matchup with Ruskin early and hit that mark in the 31st minute when sophomore reserve forward Macy Doll slotted home from the middle of the box.
By that time, Platte County starters including senior forward Rylee Burris, who completed a hat trick in just more than 5 minutes and added a fourth in the 11th minute, and star senior attacking midfielder Lily Kytassari were on the sideline. The Pirates pushed up players like sophomore left back Caroline Linn and senior defenders Madison Palmer and Alivia Juarez into attacking positions.
Linn scored on a well-hit effort in the 33rd minute to increase Platte County’s lead to 9-0, and Beeman tallied a pair in the 38th minute for her first goals since scoring as a sophomore. A four-year contributor spending time the past three years on the inside and outside of defense, her first came when she blasted a shot that caromed off of Ruskin’s goalkeeper and ended up behind her in the back of the net.
Platte County senior defender Madison Palmer takes a shot against Ruskin on Tuesday at Pirate Stadium.
Palmer, another four-year contributor, also came up with a goal in increased chances to play forward during the 22nd minute on an assist from Doll.
Platte County’s starting defense continued to include Linn and Palmer on the outside and Beeman pairing on the inside with freshman Emily Fadler, while Juarez and junior Kaylee Dixon provide depth off the bench. The Pirates have used that combination since Palmer returned from a couple of weeks out with a head injury suffered in the season-opener, although she also moves inside with Juarez and Dixon both playing outside as reserves for a unit that has surrendered just three goals total in the past 15 games.
Burris and Kytasaari, who gave Platte County a 4-0 lead off of an assist from in the sixth minute, continue to lead the offense, but senior Lauren Stone and freshman Addison Stone both recently returned from foot/ankle issues to add depth. Lauren Stone scored her first goal since missing significant time after going down late in the first of two wins over Fort Osage this season back on April 8 in the 17th minute.
By that time, Burris had scored four times — one each in the first, fourth, sixth and 11th minutes — and Kytasaari’s came just seconds after the completed hat trick.
Doll received additional playing time in the wake of the Stones’ injuries while seniors Brooklynne Jenni and Giada Cucchiara plus junior Saige Dickens have been the starting midfielders. Cucchiara mostly plays a pivotal defensive role in front of the backline, while sophomores Amela Dzilic, Mila Cucchiara and junior Kiara Smith have been the most frequent substitutes in midfield, although rotations would likely shorten in any tight postseason matchups.
