The No. 4 Barton Community College men's soccer team used a pair of late first-half goals before adding a second-half insurance tally Wednesday afternoon, securing a 3-1 victory over Dodge City Community College at a soggy Cougar Soccer Complex.
Barton built a 2-0 halftime advantage behind Joao Miotto's first collegiate goal and Masaki Tsuji's team-leading 13th less than eight minutes later. Dodge City trimmed the deficit in half early in the second half before reigning conference and national Player of the Week Rafael Calmon restored the two-goal cushion 12 minutes later, securing the 3-1 victory.
Completing the regular-season sweep of the Conquistadors with its third straight victory in the series and fifth consecutive home win over Dodge City, the Cougars improve to 7-1-0 in conference play and 14-1-0 overall. The Conquistadors slide to 1-6-1 in league action and 3-8-3 on the season. Barton continues its five-game homestand Saturday, hosting Seward County Community College for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff.
Following a scoreless opening half-hour, the Cougars broke through with 12:03 remaining before the break as Lucas Meibom's free kick from 25 yards out found the unmarked Miotto, who redirected a header inside the near post for his first collegiate goal and a 1-0 Barton advantage.
The Cougars doubled the advantage with 4:17 remaining in the half as Calmon's touch pass set up Kotaro Kimura, who slipped a thru ball toward Tsuji inside the box. A failed clearance by a Dodge City defender allowed Tsuji to collect the loose ball and maneuver into position before slotting a 1v1 finish inside the far post for his team-leading 13th goal of the season.
Dodge City cut the deficit in half with 35:23 remaining as Taemin Son's service into the box deflected off a Barton defenders head, falling to Towa Ochiai on the back side. Ochiai took a touch to create space before sending a left-footed strike inside the far post, pulling the Conquistadors within 2-1.
Barton regained its two-goal cushion with 23:13 remaining as Yuta Endo's cross-field pass found Shun Imai, who delivered a cross into the box for Calmon to head home at the back post. The goal marked Calmon's 10th of the season, pushing the Cougar advantage to 3-1.
By the Numbers
Barton held a 9-4 advantage in total shots, including a 5-2 edge in shots on goal. The Cougars outshot Dodge City 7-3 in the opening stanza before Barton and Dodge City managed just two and one shots, respectively, over the final 45 minutes. Pedro Lisboa recorded one save in 90 minutes between the pipes to improve to 12-1-0 on the season.
Game Notes:The victory marked the Cougars' eighth straight win of the season, while Barton scored multiple goals for the fourth straight game and the sixth time in its last seven games.
Wednesday's victory marked Barton's third consecutive outright win in the series, improving the Cougars to 33-7-5 all-time against Dodge City, including a 16-3-3 mark in Great Bend with five consecutive home victories.
The season sweep marked the fifth time Barton has swept the Conquistadors in season featuring home-and-away meetings.
Record Book Watch:
Masaki Tsuji- 6th: Most Points in Career (68); 6 away from 5th Leandro Reis 74 (2008-09)- 6th: Most Goals Scored in Career (29); 1 away from 5th Marcelo Carminatti 30 (2007-08)
BARTON SCORING SUMMARY
32:57: Joao Miotto (1); Assist: Lucas Meibom (5)
40:43: Masaki Tsuji (13)
66:47: Rafael Calmon (10); Assist: Shun Imai (4), Yuta Endo (1)