A pair of first-half goals proved decisive Monday evening as the 5th-seeded Barton Community College men's soccer team opened Pool D play with a 2–1 victory over 9th-seeded Blinn College at the NJCAA Division I National Tournament in Daytona, Florida.
Improving to 17-4-2 on the year, the win sets up a pivotal Tuesday 4:00 p.m. (CT) clash with host and 4th-seeded Daytona State College for a berth in Thursday's national semifinals. The Falcons, idle on Sunday, defeated Blinn by the same score on Sunday to enter the matchup at 13-2-2.
Just a tick less than four minutes into the contest, Diogo Gimenez found some space following Lucas Meibom's pass and unleashed a 25' laser to far post for his 5th marker of the season.
Barton received some much-needed cushion with just under ten minutes left in the opening stanza, as Sho Kinjo's rise-n-shine header put away Rafael Calmon's corner kick for his second net rattler of the season. Calmon's fifth assist moved into a four-way tie for the team lead team lead with Meibom.
Blinn halved the deficit early in the second half on a corner-kick sequence of its own, Jordan Franco redirecting Jesus Gonzalez's service to the back post, setting up a tense final 40 minutes.
The Cougars led the final stat 10-4 on shots, 7-2 in second half action with four on frame despite not finding the net. Gabriel Bergamin, anchoring a solid defensive line only allowing the goal with no other shots on frame, picked up the victory in net improving to 9-2-0 on the year.