Most wins, most goals, most shutouts, first winning season, first playoff berth
by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
It was a women’s soccer season like no other at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
Never in the 8-year history of the sport had there been a winning team let alone a team finishing in the upper half of the Jayhawk Conference or qualify for the NJCAA divisional playoffs. The best previous season came in 2016 when the Blue Devils were 4-8.
So the 13-4 record this fall represents the greatest turnaround in Jayhawk history. The Blue Devils missed a share of the Jayhawk Conference championship by a single game, finishing second to Cowley, and won their first playoff game ever, a 3-1 win over defending district champion Barton County.
The record book was completely rewritten. The 64 goals were far and away the most ever as were the five shutouts. The Blue Devils defeated every team in the conference including Johnson County, Butler County and Coffeyville for the first time.
Individually, freshman Melissa Siegel finished fifth in the nation with 21 assists and scored 10 goals. Another freshman, Corrine Hughes, led a balanced offense with 13 goals and three assists.
Sophomore Kayla Deaver added 12 goals to go along with Siegel’s 10 and freshman Maddy Broeker’s 8 from the forward position. The Blue Devils also got six goals from midfielder Kayley Pedersen and four each from Karleigh Enyart, Katrina Sargent and Jaidyn Yingling.
“That’s incredible that we had so many players score, just a team effort in so many ways,” KCKCC coach Shaun Uhlenhake said. “I think any coach would be shocked to have a team score 64 goals and no one with more than 13. Usually a team scoring that many goals has someone with upwards of 25 goals.”
Uhlenhake said the turning point of the season came in a loss, a 3-2 setback to perennial power Butler County on a 25-yard kick with 5.9 seconds left in the first extra period.
“Butler was ranked No. 6 at the time and I think it showed that we could compete, a real boost for our sophomores,” he said.
“I think we exceeded my expectations,” he said. “We knew we had brought in some good players. You never know how they’ll jell but this group did. On and off the field, they were fun to be around. Good people. We’ve had a lot of good players and captains and Sydney Guerra was one of the best at leading a solid defense to complement a strong midfield and an offense that put goals in the back of the net.”
The Blue Devils will lose eight sophomores including five full or part-time starters. They are defender Alex Schemmel, midfielders Sydney Guerra, Karleigh Enyart and Tina Alvarez and forward Kayla Deaver along with backups Arlene Ruiz, Jasmine Diaz and Ruth Nunez.
However, there’s a wealth of returning talent around which to build. Jaidyn Takaishi, who had the five shutouts, returns in goal while forwards Corrine Hughes, Melissa Siegel and Maddy Broeker combined for 31 goals the past season. Kayley Pedersen, who had six goals and seven assists, returns to the midfield; Paige Liston and Katrina Sargent to the defense.
“We have several players who didn’t get a lot of playing time who we think will contribute,” Uhlenhake said. They include Jaidyn Yingling, Caroline Rutledge, Hailey Coates, Hannah Nystrom, Marissa Stratton and Bryanna Najara.
Because of the playoff run, recruiting for 2020 got a late start but is picking up.
“We’ve got two commitments and have had several visits,” Uhlenhake said. “We’re trying to find good players who fit into our program and culture. It will be hard to replicate this past season but it was certainly one on which to build. Truly enjoyable, it was fun coming in every day. The last thing I told our team was ‘It was a pleasure.’ ”