The Platte County girls soccer team didn’t show well in the Platte County Invitational to start the season, but they have turned a corner since beginning conference play.
The Pirates lost two of their first three games this year at the Platte County Invitational, losing a penalty shootout to Park Hill South and a 7-0 defeat to St. Pius X. Since losing to St. Pius X on March 24, the team’s largest defeat since 2014, the Pirates have responded in a big way.
Platte County answered by going on a winning streak that currently sits at five games in the Greater Kansas City Suburban Conference Gold Division. It started on March 31, when Platte County rolled past Truman 7-0 before a 3-2 victory against reigning conference champion Grain Valley and ending the week with a 4-0 victory against William Chrisman.
Last week, Platte County defeated Fort Osage 4-1 on April 8 and Ruskin 10-0 on April 10. Against Fort Osage, Platte County started well with a goal in the opening two minutes and went up 2-0 when Giada Cucchiara dribbled through several defenders before calmly slotting the ball into the corner.
Fort Osage still posed some offensive threats but were denied a one-on-one chance by goalkeeper Finley Kaser. The visitors eventually got one before halftime when a ball was chipped over the Pirates’ defense and a Fort Osage attacker got her head to it, looping the ball over Kaser, who had come racing off her line to put out the fire.
With the Pirates holding a 2-1 lead at halftime, a pair of second-half goals from Lilly Kytasarri completed her hat trick and ensured the Pirates didn’t lose their winning streak.
“We had to match their intensity,” Platte County head coach Ashlyn Brantley said. “Especially their aggressiveness. It was going to be a physical game, so we knew we had to match that. We wanted to keep the ball as much as possible.”
Wearing soccer’s coveted No. 10 jersey, she now sits near double-digits in goals and has been instrumental in giving the Pirates a shot at the conference title after a disappointing run last year.
“It’s been a really big difference from last year,” Kytasarri said. “Last year, we didn’t start off very well. This year, we’ve had a better start and want to keep that going and have strong momentum at the end.”
The team has been working on some possession-based tactics, which is quickly evident in how they move the ball around the field and involve all 11 players. As a result, the team has seen a variety of goalscorers.
“Our mentality is a lot different,” Kytasarri said. “We’re going into every game wanting the best, wanting to win. Every single player is wanting to contribute.”
Brantley has seen her team come closer together this season. They had some tough matchups early in the season, but she likes how her team has responded.
“They seem to have come more together off the field,” Brantley said. “Which has helped us become more together on the field. We’ve been working on our movement off the ball, which we are starting to see is improving a lot more as well as defending and attacking restarts.”
The Pirates’ recent surge has put them in the driver’s seat for the conference championship, but there are still nine conference games left, including a return visit to Grain Valley on May 6.
Until that meeting, Platte County hopes to keep its winning streak going with home matchups against Raytown and Belton on April 14 and 15 before visiting Raytown on April 17.
Platte County will take a break from conference action towards the end of the month to compete in the North Kansas City Invitational from April 24-26.