by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
For the second time this season, Kansas City Kansas Community College and Johnson County Community College women’s soccer teams battled to a tie.
And for the second time, the Lady Cavaliers scored in the final six minutes to force overtime and ultimately at 3-3 deadlock Friday at the Overland Park soccer complex at 135th Street. Losing only to league-leading Butler County, JCCC’s record to Jayhawk Conference play fell to 6-1-2.
The tie, KCKCC’s third this season, left the Lady Blue Devils with a 3-4-3 overall record heading into the final week of the regular season.
The Blue Devils play host to Fort Scott Tuesday at 5 p.m., go to Butler County Thursday and then entertain Coffeyville in the season finale Sunday at 5 p.m. Both of the home games will be followed by men’s contests.
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KCKCC took a 1-0 lead just 6:23 into the game at JCCC Friday, Harmon sophomore Itzel Almanza scoring off a corner kick from DeSoto sophomore Carmen Rush.
The Cavaliers tied it 1-1 on a Monique Diaz goal and then took a 2-1 halftime lead on a shot by Megan Nugent before KCKCC rallied in the second half.
Karleigh Enyart, a freshman from Olathe Northwest, scored on a low shot from 30 yards out that skipped under the goalkeeper to tie it and sophomore forward Jasmine Blindt of Shawnee Heights gave KCKCC a 3-2 lead with a high volley goal from 25 yards out.
The Cavaliers then pulled even when Georgia Vernardakis scored with six minutes left and the two teams battled through two scoreless 10-minute overtime periods.
KCKCC got a standout performance in goal from Kearney freshman Alee Alter. Held to just three shots on goal the first half, the Cavaliers had nine second half shots with Alter turning away eight including several on acrobatic defensive plays.
“Truly a game with heart from start to finish,” KCKCC assistant coach Sara Matthews said. “We competed through every moment and gained valuable tactical experience. JCCC is a quality team from top to bottom but we executed our defensive strategy very well which allowed us to gain possession and catch them off guard in the attack.
“Compared to the last time we played them, we were able to hold a little more of the possession percentage. It was nice to see that progress. To battle a solid team to two ties this season truly shows the progress of the program. I couldn’t be more proud of the heart they showed throughout the game.”