In the enigma that is collegiate sports, Allen Community College’s soccer team had a rough first half, but still stayed even with visiting Johnson County in a scoreless tie.
But even as the Red Devils improved their energy level after intermission, it wasn’t enough to stop the visiting Cavaliers, who scored the game’s only goal on a rebound triggered by a free kick with less than 10 minutes left on the clock.
The resulting 1-0 loss drops Allen to 2-4 in Jayhawk Conference play and 4-6 overall.
“Our energy level was terrible in the first half,” Allen head coach Doug Desmarteau said. “It was like we were just going through the motions.”
Even so, Allen had a handful of scoring opportunities early on, but was unable to get the ball past Johnson goalkeeper Sam Sizemore.
“Their goalkeeper did a good job in the air,” Desmarteau said.
The game stayed scoreless until Allen was called for a foul with just under 10 minutes left in the game. The subsequent free kick led to a scrum in front of Red Devil goalkeeper Chase Tonkin, who was unable to secure the rebound before the ball was punched into the net.
“At that point, 1-0 was the same as 6-0,” Desmarteau said. “There was no reason to hold back at that point.”
The Red Devils had a pair of corner kicks in the waning moments, but Sizemore was there each time for the follow-up shots on goal, including one with just under a minute left in regulation.
“We need to figure out a way to get better,” Desmarteau said. “We tend to play to the level of our opponent.”
Tonkin racked up five saves in the match.
Allen resumes play at 3:30 p.m. Sunday in Dodge City.
Allen men fall to Johnson County
