ACC women playoff-bound with victory

It wasn’t a stretch to say Tuesday’s 2-1 overtime victory over visiting Independence Community College was the most important of the season — or several seasons — for Allen Community College’s women.
Trailing Independence by two points in the Region VI standings meant a win would put the Red Devils in the playoffs for the first time in eight years.
A loss would keep the Red Devils home for the postseason.
“This was, essentially, a playoff game,” Allen head coach Jeremy McGinnis said.
Perhaps that’s why, after several near misses, signs of frustration were growing visible on the exasperated Red Devils’ faces.
The tables finally turned 15 minutes into the second half and Allen trailing visiting Independence, 1-0.
With a howling northwest wind at their back, Allen’s dynamic duo of Lexi Godlove and Kyleigh Rowe got ahead of the Pirate defense.
Rowe flicked the ball past the end line to feed Godlove, who nimbly punched the ball past the Pirate goalkeeper for a game-tying score.
Several more near misses followed through the rest of regulation. Rowe’s blast with less than 13 minutes left in the match slammed off the crossbar, and Godlove was unable to reach the ball on a pair of breakaway opportunities.
The game went into overtime, the third straight time the Red Devils have been extended past regulation. More importantly, ACC still had the wind at its back.
Rowe finally broke through, off a feed from Kristen Tainatongo left of the Pirate goal.
Rowe took it from there, punching the ball past the goalkeeper for the game-winner, prompting a primal scream of joy and relief among the Red Devil players and fans.
“It was getting so frustrating,” Rowe said. “I just kept getting after it and hitting the ball as hard as I could.”

THE KEY to the victory, McGinnis said, was patience, particularly after Independence scored just moments into the match to take the early lead.
The Pirates had the wind at their backs early, and took full advantage, peppering ACC goalkeeper Keelie Arbuckle with shots in an attempt to extend their lead.
But Arbuckle was there to stymie every challenge until ACC’s defense began to exert iteself.
The last 10 minutes of the first half were played to a draw until the teams switched sides and the Red Devils got the wind advantage.
“The wind was a key factor,” Godlove said.
Those kicking into the wind typically saw the ball die, or even begin to float backward as it neared the ground, she noted.
“It was just a matter of taking advantage when we had the wind,” Godlove said. “It felt great getting that first goal, because that’s usually what really gets us going.”
But even though Allen dominated possession down the stretch, they couldn’t get the tie-breaker.
“You could tell the girls were getting frustrated,” McGinnis said. “I feel great for them.”
Allen’s six Region VI victories gives them 18 points, one more than Independence. More importantly, the Red Devils still have two matches remaining, while Tuesday’s match was the final Region VI contest for the Pirates, preventing them from getting any more points.
That means ACC is assured of a playoff berth, regardless of what happens Saturday at Neosho County or Oct. 30 at home against Butler County, the sixth-ranked NJCAA Division II soccer team in the country.
The Region VI playoffs begin Nov. 2

To reach Richard Luken email him at richard@iolaregister.com or follow him on Twitter @rlukenregister.