Kansas City Kansas Community College's women protected their newly earned No. 10 national ranking and a share of the Jayhawk Conference lead Wednesday, posting a 5-0 home win over Seward County.
The win kept the Blue Devils tied with Barton for first place, both at 6-1-2, and just ahead of Hutchinson (5-1-3) and Cowley (5-1-2) in a tightly bunched Jayhawk race. Overall, the Blue Devils are 8-1-2, the best record in the conference, heading into a 11 a.m. kickoff at Dodge City Sunday.
The shutout of Seward was the sixth in 11 games for the Blue Devils, who defensively allowed just three shots on goal. Sophomore Karli Angle and freshman Maria Heuman shared goalkeeping duties, each playing a half, while defensive leaders were sophomores Payton Rayos and Leslie Hernandez and freshmen Anne Boehnlein and Noelia Cruz.
"I thought we played well," KCKCC Coach Shawn Uhlenhake said. "We had to be patient because Seward was in a defensive shell that forced us to find ways to get quality shooting opportunities. But we were able to accomplish what we needed to before taking on another tough conference team at Dodge City Sunday."
The Blue Devils needed just 2:37 to take a 1-0 lead when Piper freshman Sierra Montez blasted home a kick from outside the box. Montez made it 2-0 at 30:59 with another rocket from long range that the Saints' goalkeeper got a hand on but could not save.
KCKCC put the game out of reach in the second half. Freshmen scored the first two goals. Spring Hill midfielder Veronica Farris made it 3-0 with a goal in the 54th minute and Cora Ellermann notched the fourth goal six minutes later. Sophomore Emma Gervey looped home the fifth goal with 2:21 left.
But for a foot or less, the Blue Devils could have had three more goals. Two shots grazed the top of the goal, a third hit off the left goal post.
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