COFFEYVILLE — The Allen Community College Red Devils defeated Coffeyville in their exhibition opener 1-0 Wednesday night.
Despite the Coffeyville Red Ravens maintaining possession for the majority of Wednesday’s friendly, the Red Devils took advantage of their opportunities on a second-period corner kick whic ricocheted off the shin of Allen wing Pablo Vinueza for the only score of the evening.
“It was just me staying with my mark and going inside,” said Vinueza, who scored with 2:38 left in the second period on a corner kick from sophomore wing Duncan Johnson.
“It brought us up. It was something everyone was working on. It helped us in the preseason and we’re looking forward to making more goals this season.”
Coffeyville seemed confident early in the contest as the Division I junior college took its time against the D-II Red Devils. important thing, is communication,” Nunez said. “It’s always communication, talking, talking, talking. In the practices before this, we were always talking about positioning and staying solid in the back.”
For Allen Coach Geffte Blanc, Wednesday’s win was a confidence-builder. Coffeyville finished fifth in the D-1 Jayhawk Conference standings, handily defeating teams who blew out the Red Devils last season.
“Defensively, we stuck together. That’s the main thing for all of us,” Blanc said. “We’re in good shape and we can pick and choose when to go and when not to go.”
Allen may not put too much stock in an exhibition game but it does give players and coaches some healthy curiosity. At least enough to see what they can do this weekend against a much larger program in the D-II Lincoln University Blue Tigers.
“We did well today, but hey, it’s a preseason game,” Blanc said. “We’re back Saturday playing Lincoln University, who are Division- II. We look forward to that.”
The Red Ravens confidently passed the ball from wing to center to wing again, waiting for their moment to strike. Though they struck fast Allen’s back line did not break. As time and fatigue set in, the Red Ravens’ confident passes devolved into desperate attempts to gain ground.
Gabe Nunez, Allen sophomore goalkeeper, was one of three goalies keeping the shutout alive and fended Coffeyville’s attack in the waning minutes.
“The first, and most important thing, is communication,” Nunez said. “It’s always communication, talking, talking, talking. In the practices before this, we were always talking about positioning and staying solid in the back.”
