In the immediate aftermath, Platte County’s experienced back line of defenders rallied around the freshman goalkeeper.
The Pirates wouldn’t have still been in the game without the play of Jaylee Wiedmer, but an unfortunate spill led to the winning goal Monday, April 17 at Pirate Stadium. Kearney’s Trinety Williams opportunistically pounced on a loose ball and poked it into the open goal to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 golden goal victory with penalty kicks looming.
Wiedmer made 11 saves but couldn’t control the final one, leading to the winning goal.
ROSS MARTIN/Citizen photo
Platte County freshman goalkeeper Jaylee Wiedmer sprawls out to make a save in a match with Kearney on Monday, April 17 at Pirate Stadium.
“Goalkeepers have to have a short memory,” Platte County coach Ashlyn Brantley said. “We can’t let those things get us down because it had to get through everybody else to get to her, right? She had an awesome game. The one? It happens.”
Platte County played more than 190 minutes plus a penalty shootout in back-to-back games against heated rivals. After continuing a recent run of success against Smithville, the Pirates were looking to end another streak of futility against Kearney, now winners of 13 straight in the series.
The last win for Platte County against the Bulldogs came with a three-game sweep in 2009-2010.
A scoreless regulation and overtime the previous week led to a shootout against Smithville, which Platte County beat for a third straight time. The Pirates play at Kearney to close the regular season on May 11, and all three of the Highway 92 rivals will be in the same reformatted district this year.
“We always expect to compete against Kearney,” Brantley said. “They’re just another team we have to get through. We just have to come into each game knowing we can do it.”
ROSS MARTIN/Citizen photo
Platte County senior midfielder Kianna Castro, right, heads the ball upfield against Kearney on Monday, April 17 at Pirate Stadium.
The first of potentially three matchups with Kearney turned into a physical and increasingly chippy matchup with limited scoring opportunities.
Platte County’s best chance to break the scoreless deadlock came in the final minute of regulation when Kearney committed a hand ball just outside the box. Pirates senior midfielder Kianna Castro lined up a right-footed shot from 19 yards out on the resulting free kick but sent her effort well over the bar.
In the first 10-minute half of overtime, Kearney nearly struck for the winner.
Williams dribbled around a defender in the box before firing a right-footed rocket from the left-hand side 16 yards out. The ball appeared headed for the right side netting when Wiedmer sprang to her left at full extension to punch the shot away in the 90th minute, extending the match to the second half of overtime.
“We have confidence in her, and she definitely has the talent. We see it every day in practice and in games,” Brantley said. “That’s reaction and making the play. From our angle, it was going in, but she got to it with that hand. That’s all we needed.”
Just 2 minutes into the second half of OT, Kearney finally found the opening.
A shot from distance hit off Wiedmer’s chest, and as she scrambled to recover, Williams found her way to the ball first to score the sudden-death winner and ending Platte County’s eight-game winning streak. Kearney wildly celebrated in the southern end of the field, while Platte County seniors Amanda Sullivan and Calle Boe rallied around a dejected Wiedmer.
ROSS MARTIN/Citizen photo
Platte County junior defender Brittany Alvarado, right, watches her clearance in a match with Kearney on Monday, April 17 at Pirate Stadium.
A freshman thrust into a full-time starting role after a knee injury to junior Faith Burtchell, Wiedmer shined to keep the match scoreless for so long.
Kearney hit a shot over the bar, forced a save from Wiedmer and banged a shot off her near post in the first 12 minutes. The two teams split possession in the first half, but the Bulldogs created the majority of chances.
Platte County’s only efforts on goal came in the 36th and 39th minutes — a hopeful 34-yard shot from sophomore midfielder Hannah Valentine and a left-footed attempt Castro scrubbed wide after collecting a loose ball.
As the physical play ramped up, Kearney took even more control.
Back-to-back headed chances in the 52nd minute forced a save from Wiedmer and Ally Jones’ effort just went over the bar. The teams ended up combining for four yellow cards in the match, including one on Kearney coach Amanda Hopkins for dissent toward the referee.
Platte County 0 (4), Smithville 0 (3)
The Pirates back-to-back rivalry games started with a penalty shootout win Wednesday, April 12 in Smithville, Mo.
After a scoreless regulation and two halves of overtime, the regular season matchup between the two teams went to penalties for a second straight year. Castro, junior forward Destinee Smith, freshman Coryn Stephenson and junior midfielder Hanna Hall each converted penalties, but the Pirates’ lead was at 4-3 when junior Brittany Alvarado hit her attempt over the bar.
For the second time in the shootout, Smithville also missed the goal on the fifth attempt to give Platte County the win. The Pirates have taken three straight in the rivalry series with all of them going into overtime during the past two seasons.
Platte County 10, Grandview 0
The Pirates earned a Blue Division win Tuesday, April 11 in Grandview, Mo. behind four goals from Alexis Guillory. The match ended in the 51st minute due to the mercy rule.
Castro also totaled a hat trick, while juniors Bailey Bologna, Hall and Kaylyn Hathaway scored one apiece.