The Allen Community College Red Devils made a splash with their first Jayhawk Conference victory coming at the expense of Kansas City Kansas Community College Saturday.
The Allen Red Devils are on their first winning streak since August after picking up their first Jayhawk Conference victory of the season in a 3-0 shutout of Kansas City Kansas Community College.
The Red Devils still have a long row to hoe if they hope to make the postseason, but after making a few changes to the starting lineup Allen assistant coach Temesgn Tezera believes the Red Devils made immediate improvements Saturday.
?That really worked for us and we just played our game,? Tezera said. ?When we play our game, we can beat any team in this conference. We took away from KCK the looks they wanted and we took chances.?
After recently making his first varsity start for Allen earlier against Southeast days earlier, freshman goalkeeper Finley Race picked up his first shutout after holding the KCKCC Blue Devils scoreless with six saves.
?They have some great players, but I knew if we communicated enough, it doesn?t matter who they have on the team,? Race said.
With race and company keeping the Blue Devils off of the scoreboard, Tezera felt it was only a matter of time when the Red Devils would strike. Twenty-one minutes into the first period, sophomore defender Jeohvah Djimtotinine jammed in a shot from close range off a pass from sophomore midfielder Saviola Blake.
?I just called to Salvi for the ball, and he saw me coming over top,? Djimtonine said. ?My first instinct was to take it down and hit it. It just went in.?
Djimtonine was not the only player following his instincts. Utilizing a lesson taught to him by Allen head coach Gefte Blanc, sophomore defender James Hunte did not pull back on his close-range penalty kick. After giving the ball everything he had with 5:13 left in the half, Hunte?s kick ricochetted off a KCKCC player and into the goal.
Hunte?s second score in the second period also came on a hard shot from close-range but this time on a pass from sophomore midfielder Duncan Johnson. Even at close range, without a Jayhawk Conference victory coming into Saturday?s contest, Hunte did not want to leave anything to chance.
?Coach Blanc told me during training to give my shots a bit more venom,? Hunte said. ?A deflection may keep it on target and get it past the defender. That?s what I did. I hit the back of the net. That?s all there is. The first half of the season, we were not taking our chances.?
With the win, the Red Devils improved to 5-5-2 and 1-4-1 in conference play. The return to the pitch Tuesday for a game against Coffeyville. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
Article and Photo Credit: Iola Register