By BRANDON SMITH
Barton Sports Info
The No. 4 Barton Community College men's soccer team put the finishing touches on its regular season Sunday evening, notching a 4-0 road victory over the Kansas Wesleyan University junior varsity squad at JRI Stadium in Salina.
Winners of eight straight, the Cougars close the regular season at 14-3-2, while the Coyotes fall to 5-6-0 on the year. Securing the No. 2 seed in the Plains District Tournament, Barton will host No. 5 seed Coffeyville Community College in next Sunday's opening round, with time and location still to be determined due to ongoing construction at the Cougar Soccer Complex.
The Cougars struck early and often in the first half, scoring three times in a 16-minute span to take full control. Rafael Calmon broke the scoreless affair in the 10th minute as his corner kick bent untouched inside the pipes for his seventh goal of the season. Just 12 minutes later, Calmon's initial shot was denied but trickled out front, allowing Etienne Grandjean to slot home the rebound for his first tally of the year for a 2-0 edge.
Barton added a third goal just four minutes later when Calmon cleaned up a loose ball just outside the box, lacing a far-post strike for his second goal of the afternoon to send the Cougars into the locker room up 3-0.
The scoring concluded with 14:10 remaining in the second half as Ikko Fujiwara and Angel Sainz combined on a quick one-touch sequence to spring Vitor Bertoldo on a breakaway converting on the 1v1 chance for his first collegiate twine finder.
Goalkeepers Keagan Lewis and Pedro Lisboa split duties, with Lewis patrolling the pipes in the opening 45 minutes and Lisboa preserving the shutout in the 77th minute by denying a Coyotes penalty kick to secure Barton's sixth clean sheet of the season.
BARTON SCORING SUMMARY
9:30: Rafael Calmon (7)
22:00: Etienne Grandjean (1); Assist: Rafael Calmon (4)
25:06: Rafael Calmon (8)
65:53: Vitor Bertoldo (1); Assists: Angel Sainz (2), Ikko Fujiwara (1)