Platenberg Provides Spark For Top-Ranked Robinson

Robinson freshman forward Barbara Platenberg spent most of last spring dribbling up and down the black tar track that surrounds the Burke secondary school's large grass field.

She was also the team manager for the Rams' varsity team, which meant she passed out water bottles for Coach Jim Rike, collected jerseys and equipment, and got to experience the Rams' 20-1 run to the Virginia AAA state championship.

"When we would do our conditioning, she would run with us and, if we were short one [player] in practice, she'd jump in and play," Rike said. "Right then I could see she was capable of starting as a freshman."

In Monday's 5-1 victory over then-No. 4 Centreville (2-1-1), Platenberg, an Olympic Development Program standout, scored three goals on a variety of game-breaking maneuvers as "she introduced herself to the Northern Region," Rike said.

"Last year, being around the team, I got to see how they played deep into the playoffs," said Platenberg, who has four goals and two assists this season. "It got me used to playing with them and, when I got here this year, it was like I was already there, I had already been there."

Platenberg, who has played above her age group with the under-16 Braddock Road Azul -- a club team coached by Robinson boys' soccer coach Jac Cicala -- is "not intimidated to play against these older high school girls because she is used to playing with older kids," said Rike.

Platenberg's three goals against Centreville included a weave between three defenders that she capped with a one-on-one strike past the goalie, a second goal that she flicked home off a corner kick offering and another that she finished off a nice layoff from a teammate.

The 15-year-old's emergence makes the top-ranked Rams (3-0-1) even deeper than expected as they welcomed back nearly every member from last year's title team, many of whom have signed or committed to college programs.

"This team can go so far and I just want to do my best to help us make it back to states," said Platenberg, who missed the Rams' season opener, a 2-2 tie with No. 3 W.T. Woodson (3-0-1), because she was in Texas with her club team. That was just a week after she returned from Portugal, where she was with her Region I ODP team.

McLean Starts Strong

Nearing the end of its 10-6-3 finish last season, McLean pulled off a string of playoff upsets that put it on several Northern Region coaches' radars coming into this year.

The No. 5 Highlanders (6-0, 2-0 Virginia AAA Liberty District) have returned many of their playmakers from that run and have added a freshman foursome that "has come in with an advanced skill set that makes them easy to work with," said team captain Caity Flint, a senior who traded assists with freshman Josie Seebeck in a scoring connection that gave the Highlanders a 2-1 overtime victory over Stone Bridge on Monday.

"We'd love to float under the radar, but now it's kind of hard to hide," Coach Laura O'Brien said.

The Highlanders have outscored their opponents 30-6, including a 15-0 blowout over Wakefield in their season opener.