by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
A dramatic goal with 19.2 seconds left has given Kansas City Kansas Community College its first women’s soccer win over a national ranked team and thrust the Blue Devils into the thick of the Jayhawk Conference season.
Kayley Pedersen, a freshman midfielder from Shawnee Mission West, launched the game winner from outside the box that sailed over the outstretched arm of goalkeeper Lotta Dulva for a 2-1 win over No. 20 ranked Cowley College Wednesday night.
The last-minute win boosted the Blue Devils’ record to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in what shapes up as a wild, wild Jayhawk Conference race. Cowley came into the game off a 1-0 win over Butler County, which had handed KCKCC its only loss 3-2 with 5.9 seconds left in overtime. Butler then dealt Johnson County its first conference loss 1-0 Wednesday.
Only Coffeyville is unbeaten at 2-0 but the Red Ravens face Butler, Cowley and JCCC in its their next three contests.
“We’re in the conversation; it’s going to be a meat grnder,” said a happy KCKCC coach Shawn Uhlenhake, who called it the Blue Devils’ biggest win in his four years. “Beating a ranked team, it has to be.”
Riding a four-game winning streak, Cowley (5-2) took a 1-0 lead on a kick by Michayla Seahorn from outside the box with 23 minutes remaining in the first half and it took a pass from freshman Melissa Siegel to sophomore speedster Kayla Deaver for the KCKCC goal that tied it at 32:44 of the second half.
With time running down, Siegel alertly picked up a ball that had gone out of play and put it back in play with 30 seconds left before Pedersen’s high arcing shot settled in the net. Uhlenhake called it the Blue Devils’ biggest win in his four years.
“Beating a ranked team, that’s it,” he said.
The Blue Devils also got a standout performance by freshman goalkeeper Jaidyn Takaishi, who had 10 saves on 13 Cowley shots. KCKCC countered with 10 shots including five saved by the Tigers’ Dulva.
“We beat a good team today, no doubt about that,” Uhlenhake said. “They’re fast and aggressive. We got lucky to come away trailing just 1-0 in the first half but we came out the second half aggressive and started to believe we could win. Our centerbacks, Katrina Sargent and Sydney Guerra, did a fantastic job on Cowley’s No. 23 (Natalia Lima). Working in tandem they didn’t give her much space at all.”
The Blue Devils step out of conference play Saturday when they play Metropolitan Community College at Blue River at 11:30 a.m. before resuming conference action at Johnson County next Wednesday at 5 p.m.
