Allen Community College was in need of a spark.
The Red Devil soccer team got the early jump against Hesston, with a nifty goal from Aquil Lawlite just minutes into their contest Wednesday.
But frustration started to build.
Hesston effectively bogged down the action with its physical style against the faster Red Devils.
And while Allen largely controlled possession most of the way, the Larks were able to even the score on an Alex Radu breakaway midway through the first half.
The score was still knotted at 1-1 when Allen’s Amogelang Mofoke made good on a promise he’d made to his coaches days earlier.
“I told the coaches I should start being a leader,” Mofoke said, “so that my energy can transfer to the rest of the team.”
Mofoke made his mark in the waning moments of the half. First, his rush partially deflected a kick from the Hesston goalkeeper. Then, in the subsequent scramble, he parked himself in front of the Larks net, where Jose Aboud found him for the easy tap-in.
Allen then turned its slim lead into a rout in short order in the second half.
The Red Devils’ relentless pressure broke through when Elvis Simiyu punched in a goal in the 62nd minute.
“Once we got that third goal, it’s almost like the fridge fell over,” Red Devil head coach Doug Desmarteau said. “We’ve been struggling to score goals. It seemed to relieve a lot of pressure.”
Josh Hunte, Calum Murphy and Finnlay Aherne also found the back of the net over a 25-minute stretch turning a low-scoring slugfest into a 6-1 blowout.
Desmarteau credited his team’s tenacity, even as frustrations built.
Allen was winless over its past four games, and failed to score more than one goal in any of them.
Saturday’s 1-0 loss at Southeastern came despite Allen firing off 17 shots on goal, Desmarteau admitted.
