FENTON, Mo. — The coolness in the air, the sting that comes with near freezing temperatures, piled onto the heartbreak for Platte County on Saturday night.
Minutes away from an upset in regulation, the Pirates lost in double overtime, 2-1, in the Class 3 championship game against Rockwood Summit in the 52nd annual MSHSAA Soccer Championships on Nov. 22 at the World Wide Technology Soccer Park, the home of St. Louis FC soccer club.
Platte County’s best season was four minutes away from a storybook ending before the heavily favored Falcons scored to force a tie and then overtime.
Andrew Kogut’s goal in the 106th minute off a rebound got into the top of the net and set off a celebration for the Falcons, who finished the year with a 29-0-1 record.
A handful of Platte County players fell to the ground while Kogut ripped off his jersey and went to celebrate in the student section of what was essentially a home game for the team ranked No. 1 in Missouri and No. 4 in the United States by MaxPreps.
“They had the pressure on them; we were the underdogs,” Platte County coach Ashlyn Brantley said. “They had the home field advantage. They had the high school, the middle school, they had everybody out there. We told the guys it will be a different and they will have to focus on the game. The fans and crowd will try to get you out of the game but focus on how you play and keep your head in the game.
“They all played well and left it all on the field. We were right there. They don’t quit. That is all we can ask for.”
For nearly 50 minutes of the 80-minutes of regulation, the Pirates were in the drivers’s seat for a first state championship. Rockwood Summit won its first in 2016, incidentally, a year the two teams met for the first time with the Falcons winning 6-1 in Platte City.
The hero of the contest for Platte County was goalkeeper Ian Lang, who was credited with 27 saves in the championship match in 106 minutes of playing time.
Even on the last play, Lang made two saves on deflections but the third went to his right and Kogut was there to end the game. A handful of times Lang made saves to help Platte County keep the lead and then after giving up a goal in the 76th minute to Christian Kraus, Lang made saves to keep the score tied.
He faced 15 shots in the second half and stopped 14 of them. He stopped five in each of the overtime sessions.
“He just kept making saves, even on the last one, he made saves,” Brantley said of her senior keeper. “If the ball is in your half something bad could happen and it was in our half the whole time. We had to keep clearing out and the backs were working all game.”
Platte County (26-2) had limited scoring chances throughout the game. Two of the team’s four shots came in the first half and one of those found the back of the net.
Chase Peterson scored the lone goal for the Pirates in the 22nd minute. A foul of Rockwood Summit set up a free kick outside of the goalie box. Grant Allen, the dual sport star for Platte County, took the kick but made a short pass and Peterson ran up and sent a laser to the left of goalkeeper Andrew Findley for a 1-0 lead.
Allen missed the football team’s quarterfinal win due to the conflict with soccer but will be back in St. Louis this weekend for the semifinal game.
The Pirates had only one shot on goal in the second period, forced to play defense as Rockwood Summit kept attacking. Until Kraus got a dribble through Lang from 10 yards out, the Pirates defense held steady. Lang was given credit for 12 saves, seven coming in the second half against a Falcons team that ended the year with 20 straight wins.
“I thought they’d be better then they were but we balled out as brothers and we came away with this in the end,” Allen said of the second-place trophy. “We left a legacy that previous teams and future teams will look up to us.”