Blue Devil men postponed until Tuesday; both teams at Cowley Saturday
by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Sara Matthews came away with a winner in taking the coaching reins of Kansas City Kansas Community College’s women’s soccer team Wednesday.
Getting a near flawless effort by the defense, the Blue Devils cruised to a 4-0 win over Neosho County.
The Blue Devils were without head coach Shawn Uhlenhake, who underwent early morning surgery Thursday. His return is uncertain.
The game started in a downpour that dissipated after the first 10 minutes.
However, the Blue Devil men were not as fortunate. Lightning and heavy rain forced their game to be postponed until next Tuesday with a tentative 5 p.m. kickoff.
The win pulled the Blue Devils (6-2) to within a half-game of Jayhawk Conference leader Cowley College (6-1) and set up the game of the year Saturday when KCKCC travels to Cowley for a 2 p.m. kickoff.
Cowley’s home game with third place Butler County Wednesday was suspended in the 68th minute with the two teams deadlocked 1-1. No date has been set for completion of the game.
“A big game, for sure,” Matthews said. “On the road against the top team in the conference, it’s a big test.”
Wednesday’s win boosted KCKCC’s overall record to 9-2, the best in the team’s history.
KCKCC’s defense allowed only one shot on goal in blanking Neosho.
Freshman goalkeeper Jaidyn Takaishi turned away the Panthers’ lone shot while sophomores Sydney Guerra and Alex Schemmel and freshmen Paige Liston and Caroline Rutledge cemented the defense.
Meanwhile, the Blue Devils were launching 17 shots offensively in getting goals from a quartet of freshmen – Jaidyn Yingling, Kayley Pedersen, Corrine Hughes and Melissa Siegel.
Once the rain let up, Yingling put KCKCC in front 1-0 at 23:11 on the first of two Siegel assists.
“Jaidyn just battled and hustled her way to get the shot,” said Matthews. Pedersen made it 2-0 with 9:22 left in the half. “Corrine Hughes got a good cross and K.P. was there to use her body to finish.”
Hughes’ score came 1½ minutes into the second half.
“Melissa got a cross over to Corrine, who powered it in – a shoe-shining goal,” Matthews said.
Siegel outbattled a bevy of Neosho defenders for the final goal on a corner kick from Pedersen.
“When you come and get a 4-0 win, it’s a good night,” said Matthews, who has had previous head coaching experience at Avila University. “It was a slow game with all the rain but we were still able to control the game.”
