Call the first season in the Suburban Conference White Division an unequivocal success.
Platte County finished an unbeaten run through the five-team league Thursday night with a 2-0 win on the road over Belton. This marks the third conference title in four years after splitting the Blue Division crown with Smithville in 2021 and then moving up a tier for the first time in program history.
Next up, Platte County moves into the postseason looking for a return to the playoffs for the first time since reaching the Class 3 state championship game and finishing as runnerup in 2019. The Pirates go into Class 3 District 8 play as the No. 2 seed and open Saturday in a rematch of last year’s title game against seventh-seeded Guadalupe Centers (6-8-1).
Platte County takes an eight-game winning streak into the intriguing matchup, having reeled off the run after a loss to Class 4 Park Hill South on October 6. The Pirates beat five conference opponents in that stretch, including both meetings with Belton.
In Thursday’s meeting, Platte County junior midfielder Ahoy Victore opened the scoring in the 10th minute, and the 1-0 lead held until junior midfielder Connor Currence calmly converted a penalty kick early in the second half. Platte County senior goalkeeper Jordan Hedrick held the shutout, his second straight.
Platte County gelled down the stretch with senior forward Aaron Cordova fully healthy after struggling with a quad injury for much of the early part of the season. He formed an effective offensive combination with junior forward Gavin Nichols — the top returning scorer from a year earlier.
Perhaps more importantly, Platte County’s completely rebuilt defense continues to gain more familiarity. The Pirates graduated all three defenders and a goalkeeper from last year’s district finalist. The new backline has included freshman Jackson Goodale in the middle with seniors Mark Wiesehan and Joseph Ibarra the first-choice on either side of the centerback but with junior Daniel Bunge playing a starting role during the current winning streak.
Hedrick became the important missing piece for Platte County, convinced to come out for soccer in his final year as an athletic option and a second straight baseball-standout-to-goalkeeper following the example of recent three-year starter Patrick Sullivan.
Platte County will have a difficult road to trek for a playoff return. A year earlier, the Pirates beat Guadalupe Centers in a competitive regular season matchup then lost a rematch in the Class 3 District 8 title game to the Aztecs. That spelled the end of a run for a large collection of experienced seniors.
This season, only Ibarra and Cordova remain from the 2019 state runnerup team. Cordova started as a freshman but spent the past two seasons away from Platte County and out of high school competition before returning for his senior season.
Platte County 5, Raytown 0
The Pirates bolted to a four-goal lead at halftime Wednesday in Raytown, officially locking up the conference crown a night early.
Cordova scored back-to-back goals early in the first half to make it 3-0, and junior reserve forward Josh Nelson added another right before halftime. He closed out the scoring in the 48th minute, and Hedrick made the big lead standup with a cleansheet.
Platte County 3, William Chrisman 1
The Pirates opened the week with a victory Monday at Pirate Stadium in the potential home finale, barring a home playoff game.
Cordova, Nichols and junior midfielder AJ Schrick accounted for the goals. Cordova struck first on an assist from Nichols in the third minute, and Cordova returns the favor on Nichols’ goal 17 minutes later.
Schrick increased the lead to 3-0 in the 53rd minute with Victore on the assist before Chrisman pulled one back in the 57th minute. Hedrick made five saves.
