It was a slow start to the 2025 season for Platte County’s boys soccer team, but an offensive splurge briefly pushed them over .500 for the first time since 2023.
Platte County had gotten off to a difficult start to the season, winning just one of its first six games while getting outscored 17-5. After getting shut out in three of those early-season matchups, Platte County’s offense has not looked back since and has won five of its last six matches while outscoring opponents 23-7.
The Pirates’ scoring abilities began to take shape on Sept. 17, when they defeated Raytown 5-1. Platte County conceded a goal 63 seconds into the match, but freshman midfielder Elijah Smith scored the equalizer less than three minutes later as he was the quickest to react to a shot off the post before sophomore forward Kayden Roy struck twice before halftime as the Pirates added two more insurance goals in the second half.
Platte County earned back-to-back shutouts for the first time this season against Central on Sept. 18 in a 2-0 victory and William Chrisman on Sept. 22 in a 4-0 victory. Their shutout streak concluded against Ruskin, but they still earned a 5-2 victory for the team’s fourth consecutive win as they jumped back to a .500 winning percentage.
Platte County junior Ryan Waldman races down the left flank against Kearney.
In the Highway 92 showdown, Platte County’s offense showed out once again in a 4-0 victory against Kearney on Sept. 29, putting the Pirates above .500 with a 6-5 record for the first time since 2023. It took less than eight minutes for Cameron Habel to send a 25-yard strike into the top corner, followed by Roy’s effort to make it 2-0 preceding halftime, before Ryan Waldman converted a penalty and Wally Baldwin ended the match with an exclamation point, sending a bullet header into the back of the net from a corner kick.
Platte County’s five-game winning streak came to a conclusion on a visit to Belton on Oct. 1, as the visitors suffered a 4-3 defeat. They went down 2-0 in the opening 10 minutes and managed to cut the deficit back to one, but could never find the equalizer before Belton added to its lead.
Platte County sits with a 6-6 overall record, 3-3 in conference play, before another tough conference clash against Grain Valley on Oct. 6. The Pirates will begin a three-game road stretch on Oct. 8 against Truman before visiting Smithville on Oct. 9, Raytown on Oct. 13 and returning to Pirate Stadium on Oct. 15 against William Chrisman.