Kansas City Kansas Community College took a major step in wrapping up a second place finish in the power-laden Jayhawk Conference women's soccer race Saturday.

A pressure-packed 2-1 win over No. 17 ranked Cowley vaulted the No. 16 Blue Devils into undisputed possession of second place with one game to go, a neutral site clash with Garden City at 1 p.m. Oct. 23 at Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita.

At 10-3-2 in conference play, the Blue Devils need a win to stay ahead of No. 11 ranked Hutchinson (9-3-3) and Cowley (8-3-4), one of which will win Monday when the two teams play each other. No. 7 Barton (11-1-3) has the conference title wrapped up. At 12-3-2 overall, the Blue Devils set a record for the most regular season wins in history and are in reach of the all-time KCKCC single season record of 13-4 set in 2019.

The Blue Devils built a 2-0 lead against Cowley on Saturday, then had to stave off several assaults in the closing minutes. The Tigers cut the KCKCC lead to 2-1 with 20 minutes remaining, but Blue Devil goalkeeper Karli Angle made a spectacular one-hand save with 18 minutes left and added a couple of more of her half-dozen saves to preserve the win.

"There were some nervous moments toward the end, but Karli Angle came up with some huge saves," KCKCC Coach Shawn Uhlenhake said. "Overall, our defense bailed us out again. Leslie Hernandez, Payton Rayos, Ann Boehnlein and Nooelia Cruz did great job at the back of our defense."

The Blue Devils took a 1-0 lead with 20:30 left in the first half, when sophomore Mia Hurt sent a missile into the upper right corner of the goal from outside the 18-yard box on a pass from the corner from freshman Jaycee Schumann. What proved to be the winning goal came 15 minutes into the second half, when sophomore Jordan Bedard blasted in a pass from Schumann.

"A big win for our group and great way to recognize our sophomores by setting a school record for regular season wins," Uhlenhake said. "Just a lot of really good things all over the field. We just have to keep the momentum up heading Monday's game with Garden City."