The best Kansas City Kansas Community College regular women's soccer season is in the books thanks to a heart-stopping 1-0 win over Garden City Monday.
Now they have to do it again. The Blue Devils host Garden City in a first round Region VI playoff this weekend. A date and time have not yet been determined.
Freshman defender Ann Boehnlein's dramatic corner kick off the Garden City goalkeeper broke the 0-0 deadlock with just eight minutes remaining in the contest at Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita.
Not only did the win provide the best regular season record (13-3-2) in KCKCC history, it wrapped up a second place finish in the power-laden Jayhawk Conference, the No. 2 seed in the Region VI playoffs and the first round home playoff berth.
"Another tough conference game, like they've all been," KCKCC Coach Shawn Uhlenhake said. "Fortunately, Ann Boehnlein delivered a really good corner kick and slipped it past the goalkeeper. It's been a grueling conference schedule. We've been tested, and they have continued to find ways to win games."
The 13-3-2 record in NJCAA Division I play comes against the toughest schedule ever. Four teams are ranked in the Top 20 nationally – No. 8 Barton (12-1-3), No. 11 KCKCC (11-3-2), No. 17 Cowley (9-3-4) and No. 16 Hutchinson (9-4-3).
The shutout was the 10th of the season with sophomore Karli Angle recording three saves as the Blue Devils had a huge 25-8 advantage in shots on goal.
"Another great effort from our defense and another shutout for Karli Angle," Uhlenhake said. "We had several chances early to take control, but just couldn't convert on some open goal attempts."
The KCKCC-Garden City playoff will be the third meeting between the two teams, the Blue Devils also winning the first game 3-0.
"Time for a whole new season," Uhlenhake said. "The playoffs are always a fun time of the year."