In the unfamiliar position of playing from behind, Platte County mustered a response on a spectacular goal from Caroline Linn midway through the first half.
Platte County sophomore defender Carolina Linn celebrates her first half goal against Smithville with teammates Monday at Pirate Stadium.
Platte County’s sophomore left back lofted a cross into a dangerous position that deflected off the hands of Smithville sophomore goalkeeper Mattie Marchetti and fluttered into the net. Or did Linn intentionally take a long-range shot from nearly 30 yards out Monday night at Pirate Stadium?
No matter, Platte County held level until senior Rylee Burris and sophomore Addison Stone scored nearly back to back late in regulation to deliver a 3-1 comeback victory in the matchup of rivals. Linn didn’t necessarily want to say either way about her intentions on the Pirates’ game-changing play.
“I was trying to get it in (the box). Whatever happens happens. I’m really glad it went in,” Linn said. “Call it a shot, yeah.”
Platte County (16-3) faced two very different challenging situations this past week and responded to both with aplomb.
First, Smithville (12-4) scored the first goal against the Pirates’ defense in nearly a full month, accounting for nearly 700 minutes of game play, on freshman forward Chloey Simpson’s opener less than 5 minutes into the first half. However, the comeback allowed for the extension of an ongoing win streak to 14 straight games.
Platte County senior midfielder Brooklynne Jenni plays a pass to freshman forward Addison Stone in the second half against Smithville on Monday at Pirate Stadium.
A day later, Grain Valley grinded out a 1-0 victory to forge a tie with Platte County atop the Suburban Conference White Division standings. After allowing goals in back-to-back games for the first time since the season-opening Platte County Invitational, the Pirates rebounded for an important 1-0 win at Fort Osage on Thursday night in Independence to avoid the biggest obstacle to a potential shared league crown.
Platte County can earn a piece of the program’s first-ever White Division championship with wins Tuesday vs. Ruskin and Thursday at Belton.
“I think it’s just a very uplifting thing for the team, and it just proves that we’re connecting and working good together,” Linn said.
Down 1-0 to Smithville, Linn’s equalizing goal came out of nowhere.
Platte County senior attacking midfielder Lily Kytasaari played a pass to Linn deep on the left side, and she sent the ball into the box. Marchetti looked befuddled on how to react, ended up needing to backpedal and couldn’t keep the ball out of the net despite being in position to make a catch.
Back level, Platte County senior goalkeeper Finley Kaser made three of her five saves in the remainder of the first half, knocking down a shot in the closing seconds to keep the score at 1-1 going into halftime.
Platte County senior goalkeeper Finley Kaser watches a shot hit the cross bar in the first half against Smithville on Monday at Pirate Stadium.
“She did really good. She’s always really consistent,” Linn said.
Platte County ended up with just five shots on target total but also created other dangerous chances. In the 36th minute, senior midfielder Brooklynne Jenni nearly put the Pirates ahead, but her outside-of-the-foot effort skittered just wide of the right post. Burris appeared to give them the lead in the 46th minute, being sent in one-on-one and easily finishing past Marchetti only for the offsides flag to nullify the apparent goal.
Smithville’s best chance to beat Kaser came moments later when a shot rattled off the crossbar for the second time, first since senior midfielder Peyton Wohlford hit the frame with a deep free kick in the opening minutes of the first half just before Simpson’s goal.
Platte County’s defense settled in after the nervy early minutes with senior Madison Palmer again at right back to start and the combination of senior Annabel Beeman and freshman Emily Fadler starting in the center of the back line. Fully worked back in after missing a significant spell early in the season, Palmer also moved inside with senior Alivia Juarez and junior Kaylee Dixon still receiving minutes off the bench on the outside.
Platte County senior defender Madison Palmer makes a challenge against Smithville on Monday at Pirate Stadium.
“I think we just needed to connect passes better and talk more, but I think we did pretty good,” Linn said.
With Smithville in check, Platte County finally broke back through in the 75th minute when senior midfielder Giada Cucchiara chipped a pass over the top to Burris, who outraced a pair of defenders and cleanly finished past Marchetti in a similar manner to the offsides play early in the second half. She then shared an emotional hug with Kytasaari.
Platte County then locked up the win in the 77th minute when Jenni, who missed a similar and overlapping amount of time with the same injury as Palmer, played Stone through into the clear. She blasted a left-footed shot across the face of goal to give the Pirates a 3-1 lead that easily held up until the final whistle.
“Quote,” Linn said.
With Stone back from a recent foot injury, Platte County saw only senior forward Lauren Stone still out, allowing sophomore Macy Doll to continue rotating in up top with the forwards. The rotations have started to narrow with the Pirates legitimately going 20 deep at certain points this season. The crowded midfield includes Kytasaari, Jenni, Cucchiara and junior Saige Dickens with junior Kiara Smith and sophomores Mila Cucchiara and Amela Dzelic receiving the most time off the bench against Smithville.
Kytasaari’s versatility also allows her to move forward in many instances and play up top as needed, especially with Lauren Stone still out.
In Tuesday’s loss at Grain Valley, Doll suffered a broken wrist but should be able to continue playing. Kytasaari netted the only goal in a hard-fought win over Fort Osage. The Pirates won the first meeting between the two teams 4-1 during the lengthy winning streak.
Kaser recorded her 13th cleansheet of the season.
