Platte County’s chase of a playoff return continues minus eight starters in a second straight season of attrition that requires an obvious rebuild. Last fall, the Pirates lost in the district title game for a third time in four years, dropping a matchup to eventual Class 3 state campion Kansas City East.
An eight-player senior class led a strong 15-5 season, and Platte County need up ranked No. 5 Missouri High School Soccer Coaches Association (MHSSCA) Class 3’s final power rankings. The Pirates built momentum late with a six-game winning streak, culminating in an improbable comeback from a two-goal deficit to beat host Pembroke Hill 3-2 in overtime in the Class 3 District 8 semifinals. The Raiders led 2-0 with under 7 minutes left in regulation only to see the result of a matchup from the same round in 2022 reversed.
However, the only starters returning for Platte County are senior goalkeeper Paul Havemeier, junior central defender Jackson Goodale and junior midfielder Cameron Habel. In addition, forwards Tug Thornton (senior) and Jonathan Ibarra-Guzman (junior) plus senior Bresner Garcia (defender), senior Aidan Murray (goalkeeper) and junior Ian Mathews (defender) have received significant time over the past two seasons.
How, the quartet mixes into much more prominent roles along with the contributions of a deep but mostly youthful roster determines the potential to seek the program’s first playoff berth since 2019 when Platte County went on to finish second at state in Class 3 to close out the best season in team history.
The senior class losses seem especially significant given the high-profile contributions. In particular, forwards Gavin Nichols and Josh Nelson and attacking midfielder AJ Schrick developed into a high-scoring trio that made up for the loss of six key contributors from 2022.
Both four-year contributors, Schrick led Platte County with 15 assists while also netting four goals as the attacking midfield engine for an offense that produced nearly three goals per game, while Nichols finished as Platte County’s leading goalscorer for a second time in three years, totaling 21 in his senior season to go with nine assists. The Pirates scored three or more goals in 10 of 20 games and were shut out just three times.
Schrick (first team) and Nichols (second team) both made the MHSSCA Class 3 all-state teams.
Nelson added 16 goals and four assists in a breakout senior season, his first as a full-time starter, and the seniors also included second-year starters Connor Currence (defensive midfield) and Daniel Bunge (left back), starting midfielder Andrew Reinsch and Fabian Risager — a foreign exchange student, who served as the centerpiece of a three-man backline.
Platte County rode the experience of Nichols, Schrick, Bunge, Nelson and Currence to cap a stretch where Platte County won 51 total games. Last year, the Pirates started 3-3 before winning 12 of the next 13 before being shutout for just the third time of the season in the district title game.
The two key pieces back on defense for Platte County helped record six clean sheets. Goodale earned all-district and all-conference honors and enters his third year as a starter, while Havemeier (first team) and Habel (honorable mention) also made the White Division lists. Havemeier earned the full-time starting job as a junior after receiving a handful of starts as a sophomore.
