HESSTON — The Allen men’s soccer team earned their fourth one-goal victory of the season when they defeated Hesston on the road Wednesday, 2-1.
The Red Devils (6-2-1; 3-2 KJCCC) got behind the sure foot of Patrick Alouidor yet again for both goals, even while eight other Allen players had shots on goal.
“It’s a game our guys go into with high confidence,” Allen head coach Doug Desmarteau said of Hesston. “They did a good job of taking what we did in practice and using it on the field. The guys really did adjust after halftime and played their style of soccer.”
Alouidor struck with his first goal 38 minutes into the game when he took a cross pass and hammered it in for the 1-0 lead.
“They play really direct and we noticed where we could have foot races, play it short and play it in their half,” Desmarteau said. “The first goal we scored was because we made them play short, and then Patrick stepped in front for a goal.”
Hesston scored only a few seconds after Aloudidor’s goal off when Alejandro Lumbreras poked in a through ball after some Allen defensive miscommunication to knot the game at 1-1.
“I don’t like getting in situations where we have a one-goal lead,” said Desmarteau. “At the end of games, they want to get more chances and push people better. It will be big time for the postseason and everyone will be playing their best soccer. You may score early and have to hold them off for 70 minutes. That’s just how the game is.”
Allen went ahead with 16 minutes left in the second half when Alouidor took another cross pass, this time from Wisdom Nkwamba, into the net for the 2-1 advantage.
Even though Allen scored only two goals against Hesston, the team had 10 shots on goal as opposed to the Larks’ eight. Calum Murphy, Diogo Cardeal, Diego Coronado, Jeff Beljour and Ted Roberts each had one shot on goal.
Allen hosts Pratt Community College on Saturday at 4 p.m.
