Platte County put forth an effort Monday night showing off a potential needed formula for grinding out wins at this point in a volatile season.
Raytown mostly dominated the offensive chances in a Suburban Conference White Division matchup, but the Pirates appeared in position to sustain momentum after both teams went scoreless in regulation at Pirate Stadium. However, a miscue in the opening minute of overtime provided the opening for the Bluejays in a 1-0 sudden-death victory.
Platte County allowed the ball to stay in play from the kickoff in the first of potentially two extra halves, and a foul on senior defender Aidan Murray led to a penalty kick.
Raytown senior Valentin Pantoja converted for the only goal and brought an end to the match just 26 seconds into overtime. The Pirates have dealt with voluminous roster turnover from a year ago, in-season attrition and growing pains — all evident in the frustrating result.
“We’ve been putting players out there; they’ve been adapting and playing well together and playing hard,” Platte County coach Ashlyn Brantley said. “Yeah, we were missing that final touch and really creating chances in behind. We didn’t have as many shots as we’d like on this keeper today. Raytown finished it; we didn’t.”
Having now lost three straight, Platte County (6-11) went into the matchup down junior central defender Wally Baldwin after he picked up a red card in the previous game against Smithville. That forced the Pirates to shift senior Bresner Garcia inside next to Murray with senior Quinn Traas and freshman Kai James-Gallimore on the outside.
The necessarily reconstructed backline faced a lot of quick counterattacks and mostly held up, while being minus three other regulars from the early season’s deep rotation.
“Quote,” Brantley said.
Raytown ended up with 11 shots on goal but an even healthier advantage in total attempts. However, the Bluejays mostly wound up trying to beat Platte County from distance and remaining in a scoreless tie until late in regulation.
The best chance for either team came in the 71st minute for Raytown, when Pantoja popped open at the right post only to shove a left-footed shot from a tight angle all the way across the face of goal and wide left.
Platte County then started to find some possession. In the 73rd minute, Pirates junior midfielder Ian Mathews played a long ball over the top to junior winger Thien Nguyen, but a heavy touch allowed Bluejays senior goalkeeper Anthony Ceron to come off his line and smother the ball without allowing a shot.
Shortly after, regulation came to an end.
“Going into that overtime, we had momentum, and we could’ve ran with that but we didn’t have the chance,” Brantley said.
Platte County seemed to have a chance to let a loose ball run out of bounds early in overtime but instead opted to try and keep open play going.
Raytown took advantage by creating a turnover and pushing the ball into the Pirates’ 18-yard box. The head referee didn’t hesitate to award the penalty kick for the pushing foul, and Pantoja sent Pirates senior goalkeeper Paul Havemeier — one of just two returning starters from last fall — the wrong way while rolling the shot from the spot into the low right corner.
“We’ve been talking about these mental lapses all season — these mistakes that we make to give these moments away,” Brantley said. “We’ve got to get over that and be smart in those situations.”
Havemeier finished with 11 saves and came up big in multiple situations to deny Raytown a goal in the run of play. He went low for a kick save at the the right post int he third minute in a notable early sequence.
Platte County managed just one shot in the first half — a header Murray nodded wide off of a Mathews corner kick. Nguyen earned the Pirates’ second corner early in the second half, but a pass played short didn’t lead to a chance. The ball ended up out of bounds on the far side of the field, and a long throw-in resulted in Pirates sophomore forward Camden Noller, having taken over the starting spot up top after a potentially season-ending foot injury to senior Tug Thornton and with Johnny Ibarra no longer on the roster, putting a header off target without threatening Ceron’s goal.
“If we have those chances — free kicks, corners — we want to make sure we capitalize on those,” Brantley said. “We didn’t get in behind (the defense) much so we didn’t create as many corners today, so when we have those chances, we need to make a s much of them as possible.”
Raytown pressured Platte County’s offense out of possession and limited lengthy buildups. The best spells for the Pirates came when junior Cameron Habel, a starter for parts of his freshman season and all of the past two, sprinted into open spaces and tried to connect with Noller or looking to add to his goal total.
Habel fired a shot from 25 yards out midway through the second half that ended up going high in what might have been Platte County’s best offensive chance, even if not clear-cut and close to goal.
However, Platte County continues to try and build around Habel and Noller as leading offensive options with a combination of Nguyen; Mathews; senior Hasan Alturkmani; juniors Abe Norman, Will Babcock and Logan Jones; and freshman Josiah O’Rourke. Babcock started to receive more time at forward behind Noller, while Alturkmani and Nguyen have earned more starting time as the roster changed in-season.
“We need to make sure (Cameron) stays healthy,” Brantley said. “We do work off of him and the energy he brings to the game. We need to continue to keep him out there and playing well so the rest can join in with him.”
Platte County return to conference play Wednesday at William Chrisman then plays two more White Division road games next week at Ruskin and Belton. The Pirates close the regular season with home games against Fort Osage and Grain Valley.
Smithville 2, Platte County 0
The two teams were nearly even in limited shots, but the Pirates allowed a goal at the end of each half in a nonconference loss Thursday at Pirate Stadium.
Smithville made the most of four total shots on goal, while Havemeier made a pair of saves. Combined with the loss to Raytown, Platte County has gone scoreless in eight games this season. The Pirates managed just three shots on goal in this one.
Grain Valley 2, Platte County 1
Mathews’ goal in the 75th minute tied the score 1-1 only to have the Eagles net the winner minutes later — just before the end of regulation last Monday in Grain Valley.
Platte County entered off back to conference wins but couldn’t maintain the streak in White Division play. Grain Valley broke a scoreless tie in the 62nd minute but faced the prospect of overtime when the Pirates leveled on a cross from Nguyen to Mathews for a tap-in goal.
Grain Valley scored late in the 77th minute and held on from there.
Havemeier made three saves in the loss for Platte County, which currently sits at 5-4 in conference play. The Pirates had won four of six games overall prior to the loss to Grain Valley.