LIBERTY, Mo. — For a significant portion of the first half, Platte County provided the type of performance meant to instill confidence for the postseason ahead.
Platte County junior goalkeeper Jack Girdner pushes away a shot against Liberty North on Tuesday at Liberty North High School in Liberty.
Liberty North eventually broke through and romped to a 7-0 victory on Tuesday night but not without experiencing significant resistance. The Eagles were the larger school with a better record at Liberty North High School but not in the same definitive matter as a year ago.
Platte County’s 2025 season came to an end with a 9-1 loss in one half to Liberty North in Class 4 District 8 play. The Pirates beefed up their schedule in anticipation of again facing significant challenges in the search for the program’s first playoff appearance since 2019.
However, Platte County (7-11) dropped back to Class 3 District 8 and owns the No. 3 seed in the tournament, scheduled for this week.
“I definitely like us seeing this type of competition (like Liberty North), and it’s been this way throughout the season,” Platte County coach Ashlyn Brantley said. “I want these types of games for them, and it can be tough for the mentality when you come out with another loss, but I think they understand who they are going up against. I think the fact we can stay with them to a certain point can bring some confidence while opening our eyes to the things we still need to work on.”
Platte County junior Sawyer Sullins takes a free kick against Liberty North on Tuesday at Liberty North High School in Liberty.
Platte County does enter the postseason on a three-game losing streak but reasons for optimism. The Pirates were more organized with a backline of juniors Ethan Quick and Sawyer Sullins and senior Wyatt Beeson from right to left and senior sweeper Kaden Kampmeyer while junior Josiah O’Rourke sat out due to nagging injuries.
Facing consistent pressure, Platte County junior goalkeeper Jack Girdner ended up credited with 29 saves. Liberty North remained scoreless until the 27th minute and led 3-0 at halftime while overwhelmingly dominating offensive possession.
“You could tell we were frustrating them a little bit. They weren’t expecting that from us,” Brantley said. “It felt good to hold them to that point. Yes, they were putting a lot of pressure on us, but we were straying strong.”
Platte County’s best looks at goal are after halftime with senior forward Camden Noller winning a couple of headers in the attacking third and most notably sending a shot high and wide while under pressure in the 44th minute. The Pirates were rarely able to string together long strings of passes and eventually allowed the final four goals but avoided an eight-goal mercy rule loss.
Platte County senior forward Camden Noller takes a shot against Liberty North on Tuesday at Liberty North High School in Liberty.
Liberty North owns the top seed in Class 4 District 8.
Platte County’s path to the playoffs no longer includes the largest schools in Kansas City but does look difficult after the coach voting resulted in the third seed. However, the Pirates’ record includes head-to-head wins over Class 3 District 8 opponents Lincoln Prep, Kearney, Smithville and Benton.
A loss to eighth-seeded Winnetonka hurt Platte County, which ended up one spot behind Lincoln Prep. Platte County won the matchup between those two teams 5-2 in the season-opening Park Hill Kickoff Classic.
“We’ve got to limit the mistakes we’ve been making throughout the season. We don’t want to be repeating those,” Brantley said. “The chances we do have, we have to finish. We’ve been to the point this season where we’ve created many chances but aren’t putting enough into the back of the net. Now, we have no choice but to do that if we want our season to continue.”
Platte County hosts sixth-seeded East (Kansas City) (6-11) at 6 p.m. Monday night at Pirate Stadium in the first round of district play with semifinals scheduled for Thursday. A win would give the Pirates a rematch with either Lincoln Prep (11-5) or Benton (9-8).
Northeast (Kansas City) (14-3) owns the No. 1 seed.
Platte County 1, Truman 0
Platte County junior forward Kayden Roy settles a loose ball against Liberty North on Tuesday at Liberty North High School in Liberty.
The Pirates earned the last of their three Suburban Conference White Division victories on the Monday of the final full week of the regular season in Independence.
The lone goal came from junior forward Kayden Roy near the midway point of the second half. Girdner then recorded his second straight cleansheet, following one against William Chrisman, and third of the season. He made seven saves.
Belton 2, Platte County 1, OT
The sudden-death winner for Belton came on a penalty kick in the conference finale for both teams in the final week of the regular season Wednesday in Belton.
Platte County trailed 1-0 until until a connection between sophomore midfielders Lucas Walton and Elijah Smith 65th minute. Walton set up Smith for a long-range shot from outside the box. The 1-1 tie held until the sudden-death overtime penalties with the PK negating any chance of Platte County going to a penalty shootout for a third time this season.
Liberty 8, Platte County 2
The final full week of the regular season ended with another loss to a Class 4 opponent in Liberty on a Thursday night.
Noller gave Platte County a 1-0 lead in the third minute on an assist from sophomore midfielder Ayden Neely. The Pirates scored again early in the second half with Noller setting up Walton to cut the deficit to 6-2.
