Allen Community College men’s soccer team needed a three-goal margin over Neosho County in Mondays match in order to have any hope of advancing to the Jayhawk Conference playoffs.
A flurry of changes throughout the match went begging, and Neosho struck twice in the second half to slip past the Red Devils 2-1.
Last Wednesday, ACC faced Kansas City Kansas Community College at home, and lost 2-1. Despite being the more dominant side during the match, ACCs hopes of advancing to the conference playoffs were diminished. Hope was resurrected after Johnson County defeated
Neosho on Saturday 1-0, meaning Allen could advance, but needed to break the tie-breaker.
ACC was motivated to perform on Sophomore Day for those playing their final match in the red, black, and white.
Usually clinical in front of net, forward Jordan Mase had multiple first-half chances come up short. Mase had an effort go wide of the far post, was denied by a kick-save at the near post, and a headed effort over the crossbar. Heading into halftime, the score remained even at 0-0.
Neosho struck first in the second half. Mase returned the favor by pouncing on a ball crossed low toward the far post that he calmly finished into the net to level things at 1-1. Like the first half, ACC calmly controlled the match and had the better of chances. The main missed opportunity came when Neoshos goalkeeper left the net open when trying to claim a ball free in the box. After being left in no mans land, Mase attempted to finish the ball in the open net, but his chance went wide. Neosho eventually took the lead with less than 15 minutes remaining, and Allen was unable to respond.
Desmarteau said the loss was a tough one to swallow.
It comes down to finishing, and having people up there to help him (Jordan), said head coach Doug Desmarteau. Jordan did score a goal, but we need to have people help him out.
It was a disappointing end to a season that began full of promise after a 3-0 start, including a win over nationally ranked St. Louis Community College. Inconsistency followed the strong start, part of it was team chemistry, but the majority can be attributed to the high level of competition in the Jayhawk Conference.
The 2019 season was an even tougher challenge with the majority of the squad being full of international players.
It is hard, and its tough to mesh the different styles of plays, Desmarteau said. At the beginning of the season we need to have a few more team-bonding events, and figure out what type of soccer we want to play.
