Wednesday, August 28th – The Allen’s Men’s Soccer team took on State Fair Community College to secure a 6-0 win for their first home game of the season.
At 4 p.m., on Aug. 28, the Allen Red Devils faced the State Fair Roadrunners for their first home game. The State Fair Roadrunners traveled from Sedalia, Missouri, to Iola for the game. The Red Devils wore white, while the Roadrunners donned blue jerseys.
Elvis Simiyu, Sophomore at Allen, scored the opening goal just 12 minutes into the match, marking his third goal in three games. Simiyu, who had previously scored two goals in away games, noted that scoring at home is a unique experience.
“Scoring at home is a great feeling compared to scoring away because of the atmosphere; the fans bring a different feeling to the game and a different feeling when you score,” Simiyu said.
Sophomore Musa Abdelgadir scored his first goal of the season with a half-volley off the goal post in the 17th minute. Freshman Dexter Todd followed with his first collegiate goal two minutes later, ending the half with a 3-0 lead.
Sophomore and team captain Alfie Scandle began the second half by scoring off a volley from fellow sophomore Javaine Lindsay just five minutes in. Freshmen Duncan Johnson and Alex Almeda added two late goals, marking the first goals of their collegiate careers and sealing the 6-0 win.
Three freshmen scored their first goals for Allen against State Fair CC, and of the 23 players who saw game time, 11 were freshmen.
“The other team dies down and fades out,” coach Desmarteau said. “I think we have a lot of freshmen who push the sophomore returners, not just on the first team but the second team too, which makes the competition, and competition breeds success.”
The Red Devils are currently 3-1-1 on the season as they begin conference play. Allen plans to continue their strong performance.
“You can expect a team that is trying to reach nationals and win the conference,” Simiyu said.