CHANUTE — The Allen men and women’s soccer teams were both held scoreless in a pair of losses at Neosho Wednesday night.
The Lady Red Devils (5-2; 2-2 KJCCC) opened up the action by falling 1-0 to the Panthers while Allen’s men (5-2-1; 2-2 KJCCC) were taken down 2-0 after Neosho scored twice early in the first half.
Women’s soccer
Allen conceded their lone goal midway through the first half when Neosho’s Olivia Gibson scored on a pass from Liadán Kavanagh.
The Lady Devils had four shots and seven shots on goal and controlled possession much of the game but weren’t able to capitalize and finish any chances at goal.
“Win, lose or draw, we’re always working,” said McGinnis. “If we don’t put goals away, we need to capitalize on chances. Neosho did a good job of dropping their back line and not allowing much space between the back line and keeper. We need to work on making more space and breaking teams down.”
McGinnis also credited Neosho’s back line for not allowing Allen’s speedsters, Audrey Smith and Rebecca Lord, to get close to the goal.
“We had some great opportunities in the final minutes, Audrey and Rebecca had a few opportunities they missed at the end,” McGinnis said. “That’s soccer: you can have possession and control of the game but one kick can change the game.”
Gibson is Neosho’s leading goal-scorer this season with 11 goals through only eight games. The next closest is teammate Lauren O’Toole with seven goals.
“We had the run of play, we possessed the ball well, and we had a few good opportunities at goal,” McGinnis said. “Their one player (Gibson), she’s a game changer. She got through once and scored a goal.”
While Allen has netted 21 goals this season, Neosho has tallied up 35 goals. The two teams will match up again at Allen on Saturday, October 14 as the Lady Red Devils will seek a taste of revenge.
“It makes our girls a little more hungry to see them again. We feel it’s a team we can definitely win and get that game back,” said McGinnis.
Men’s soccer
The Red Devils couldn’t get near the goal as often as Neosho, totaling only four shots on goal as opposed to the Panthers’ 11. Neosho had 20 total shots as Allen goalkeeper Guarav Sandhu had a busy day in the net.
“We weren’t ready for the physicality. We created plenty of chances but couldn’t get them in,” Allen head coach Doug Desmarteau said. “They were more physical than us, and in the second half we probably had the better play. Neosho’s always going to be ready to play. Getting yourself down two goals is not easy to come back from.”
