by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College’s women’s soccer team stayed side-by-side with Jayhawk Conference champion Butler for one half Thursday before the Grizzlies pulled away for a 5-1 win.
The final road game for the Lady Blue Devils, both KCKCC teams close out regular season play Sunday when they play host to conference rival Coffeyville.
The women’s kickoff is at 5 p.m. followed by the men’s clash at 7:30 p.m. with much to be gained for both teams.
The Lady Blue Devils (4-5-3) can finish with a .500 record for the first time in KCKCC history with a win while the Blue Devil men (4-4-1) could overtake Johnson County (5-3-1) for third place if the Cavaliers lose their finale to second-place Neosho County (6-3).
Butler took a 1-0 lead 22 minutes into the game on a shot by Tessa Irvine assisted by Elise Leidersten but freshman Karleigh Enyart pulled KCKCC even 1-1 with an unassisted goal with 40:18 gone in the first half.
Butler, however, took command early in the second half as Paige Achey scored three unassisted goals in the first eight minutes and then assisted Leidersten for the Grizzlies’ final goal.
“Our goalkeeper, Alee Alter, had some great saves to keep us competitive going into halftime with a chance to win the game,” KCKCC coach Shawn Uhlenhake said. “But there’s a reason Butler is one of the top teams in the country. They were able to capitalize on a couple of mistakes and took control.”
Alter was credited with 12 saves on 24 Butler shots including 17 on goal.
“Our results with the top two teams in the conference, Butler and Johnson County (two ties), showed definite signs of growth,” Uhlenhake said. “We’ve got 15 freshmen who have done a good job of coming along quickly so I’m excited to see what happens in the future.”