HESSTON — The Allen women’s soccer team poured it on Hesston in the second half of a 4-0 road victory Wednesday afternoon.
After a first half in which Allen (7-2 overall; 3-2 KJCCC) had countless shots on goal but couldn’t find the back of the net, the Lady Red Devils struck for four goals in the second half alone. Hesston nearly made it impossible for Allen to score, packing the box with nine players.
“I know it was frustrating, and as I told them, so much of life is how you react to it,” Allen head coach Jeremy McGinnis said. “We can’t control them packing it in, so we changed our reaction. We tried to find solutions and showed we were a better team than the first half.”
The key to the game, according to McGinnis, was Allen’s ability to react to Hesston’s crowded defensive scheme which didn’t allow the Lady Red Devils to move much around the goal.
Rebecca Lord scored the initial goal for Allen only 23 seconds after halftime for the 1-0 lead.
“Rebecca leads by example. She works hard, she’s very soft spoken, she’s an all-around great kid and I don’t have to worry about her,” said McGinnis. “She’s been loyal to the program and has been here for a long time. I can have soccer conversations with her, and she makes me better as a coach.”
Audrey Smith tacked on another goal a minute later when she took a ball from the left side of the 18’ box and laid it in for the 2-0 advantage.
Vivian Santos made it a three-goal lead before Pietra Camboim finished it off for the 4-0 final.
“Vivian stepped up at the end of last year. She is a hard worker and stays busy,” McGinnis said. “She does a lot of the dirty work: attacking and defending. She’s found herself unmarked inside the final third a lot. She sees space and reads the game really well.”
Hesston held the ball for a minimal amount of time, not departing from their heavy defensive set which caused troubles in the second half.
“That was a goal, to get a shutout, and we were disappointed we let them score the first time we played them,” McGinnis said. “We didn’t feel we should have let up a goal.”
Allen hosts Pratt Community College on Saturday at 2 p.m.
