by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC sports information
Kansas City Kansas Community College’s unbeaten women scored early and the defense made it stand up in a 1-0 soccer win over Butler County in El Dorado Monday.
The win was the 10th in a row and assured the No. 8 ranked Blue Devils of no worse than a first place tie in the Jayhawk East with three games to go – home games against Johnson County Thursday (5 p.m.) and Hutchinson Saturday (2 p.m.) before the regular season finale at Coffeyville May 15.
Taking advantage of a gusty wind, the Blue Devils got a goal from sophomore Melissa Siegel on an assist from Maddie Broeker in the first five minutes of play. With freshman Susie Lopez in goal, it was the sixth shutout scored by the Blue Devils, who have given up only five goals in 10 games.
“The wind was a factor…again,” KCKCC coach Shawn Uhlenhake said. “We were under a lot of pressure in the second half; it was very difficult to get clearance because of the wind. You would think we would get used to games like this because it seems like every game this spring has some sort of wind element.”
Defensively, the Blue Devils gave up very few shots on goal.
“Grace Runyon and Latrina Sargent did a great job in the middle of our back line chasing forwards and winning balls in the air,” he said. “Sammy Wohjan came in midway through the first half and stayed at outside back for the remainder of the game, giving us the speed we needed on the outside. Paige Liston also played outside back and did a good job of defending throughout the match. Our midfielders, Kaylee Pedersen, Kaylee Shaw, Kennia Acuna and Melissa Siegel, did a great job in keeping Butler out of the box.
“Overall it wasn’t the prettiest of wins but these young ladies are finding ways to win tough games. I’m proud of them, they’re a fun group to watch.”