Scoring three times in the opening eight minutes, the No. 4 Barton Community College men's soccer team continued its winning ways Wednesday afternoon, cruising to an 8-0 shutout of Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College at the Cougar Soccer Complex.
Masaki Tsuji recorded his second hat trick of the season while adding two assists for an eight-point afternoon, with Rafael Calmon contributing a pair of goals. Jaiko Miguelez and Taiki Sano each netted their first collegiate goals, while Shun Imai added his eighth tally of the season.
Securing its 10th consecutive victory, Barton improved to 16-1-0 on the season, while Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College fell to 7-7-1. Having already secured the outright Jayhawk Conference championship, the Cougars close out league play Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. top-six showdown against No. 6 Cowley College at the Cougar Soccer Complex before concluding the regular season Monday with a 3:00 p.m. matchup against Sterling College JV.
Barton wasted little time getting on the board as Pedro Lisboa's long punt bounced over the NEO defense allowing Tsuji to carry the ball into the box before being taken down for a penalty kick. The sophomore toed the line and converted for his 15th goal of the season, giving the Cougars a 1-0 lead with 41:41 remaining in the first half.
Just 14 seconds later, Yuta Endo's long ball out of the backline found Imai, who carried into the box before firing a 12-yard strike inside the near post for his eighth marker of the season, doubling the Cougars' advantage to 2-0.
Tsuji struck again just 3:28 later, as his initial shot attempt was collected by Kotaro Kimura, who laid the ball back toward the top of the box. Tsuji found himself unmarked and put away the return pass for his 16th goal of the season, extending the lead to 3-0.
With 26:33 remaining in the opening half, the Cougars pushed their advantage to 4-0 after NEO goalkeeper Pedro Branquinho turned away Tsuji's initial shot attempt. Midfielder Miguelez charged onto the rebound near the top of the box, unleashing a 20-yard strike inside the near post for his first collegiate goal.
Tsuji completed his second hat trick of the season with 31:23 remaining in the second half, moving into a tie for second on Barton's all-time career goals list after taking a pass from Miguelez, splitting a pair of NEO defenders and firing a strike inside the far post for his 17th goal of the year.
Calmon, coming off back-to-back Jayhawk Conference Player of the Week honors, continued his torrid stretch with a pair of goals just 1:33 apart, extending Barton's advantage to 7-0. The sophomore netted his 13th of the season with 30:17 remaining, finishing a 1v1 opportunity off a long ball from Helio Martins before adding his 14th with 28:44 left, putting away a feed from Imai following a combination play with Tsuji.
The Cougars capped the scoring with 8:34 remaining as Sano netted his first collegiate goal off a short corner kick. Koki Kawai played the ball back toward the top of the box, where the freshman charged onto the pass and fired a strike inside the far post for the 8-0 final.
By the Numbers:
Barton held a commanding 29-7 advantage in shots, placing 17 attempts on frame compared to four for NEO.
In net, Lisboa turned away all four shots he faced in 62:36 of action before Reece Renteria took over for the final 18:50, with the duo combining for Barton's second straight and eighth shutout of the season.
Game Notes:
- Barton has scored multiple goals in six straight games and eight of its last nine contests.- Wednesday marked Barton's ninth game of the season with four or more goals.
Record Book Watch:
Masaki Tsuji- T-3rd: Most Points in Career (79); 1 away from 2nd Kevin Ellis 80 (2009-2010)- T-2nd: Most Goals Scored in Career (33); 1 away from 1st Kevin Ellis 34 (2009-2010)- T-6th: Most Assists in Career (13); 5 away from 5th Renan Sousa (2014-2015) 18- 12th: Most Points in Single Season (42); 1 away from 11th Renan Sousa 43 (2015)- T-11th: Most Goals Scored in Single Season (17), 1 away from 10th Sam McCrillis (2012) & Ebu Camara (2012) 18
Rafael Calmon- 11th: Most Goals Scored in Career (23); 1 away from 10th Leandro Reis (2008-09) & Desmond Yankey (2004-05) 24- T-12th: Most Points in Career (56); 4 away from 11th Renan Sousa (2014-2015) 60
BARTON SCORING SUMMARY
3:19: Masaki Tsuji (15)
3:33: Shun Imai (8); Assist: Yuta Endo (2)
7:01: Masaki Tsuji (16); Assist: Kotaro Kimura (8)
18:27: Jaiko Miguelez (1); Assist: Masaki Tsuji (7)
58:37: Masaki Tsuji (17); Assist: Jaiko Miguelez (2)
59:43: Rafael Calmon (13); Assist: Helio Martins (2)
61:16: Rafael Calmon (14); Assists: Masaki Tsuji (8), Shun Imai (5)
81:26: Taiki Sano (1); Assist: Koki Kawai (1)