It all leads up to this.
Allen Community College’s women’s soccer team culminates the most successful season in the program’s history this week with a trip to the national tournament.
The Red Devils (11-0) are en route to Evans, Ga., for the NJCAA-Division II Tournament, which begins Friday in Evans, Ga.
The Allen players and coaches departed Iola for Georgia Tuesday morning with a small but hearty send-off from the Iola campus.
The road ahead will be a tough one, head coach Jeremy McGinnis noted, with Allen opening tournament play against two of the best teams in the country.
The national tournament is divided into four three-team pods.
Allen’s pod includes Holmes (Miss.) Community College, ranked no. 2 in the country at 12-0-1, and St. Louis Community College, ranked no. 8 at 11-2-1.
“We’re gonna have to really be disciplined,” McGinnis said.
Holmes, like Allen, features a dynamic offense and stifling defense. The Bulldogs average nearly 4 goals a game, and average 25 shots per match.
For comparison’s sake, the Red Devils, who have rewritten the school’s scoring records in 2021, average 4.9 goals per game on 15 shots per contest.
Holmes follows the lead of a pair of sophomore forwards. Ravynne Wilson has found the back of the net 13 times, while teammate Cariel Ellis has scored 11 goals with seven assists.
The Red Devils will require a bit of a more conservative approach against Holmes, McGinnis said.
“We’ll need to play behind the ball, stay ingested more than we have,” he said.
Fortunately, if there’s a team built to do that, it’s the Red Devils, who have allowed only two goals all season in outsourcing their opponents 49-2.
“That’s been our motto: everyone attacks, everyone defends,” McGinnis said.
