Facing its second straight nationally ranked opponent, the No. 8 Barton Community College men's soccer team turned a scoreless first half into a second straight signature win, using its second half wind advantage to knock off No. 3 Cowley College 1-0 Saturday afternoon at Cavanaugh Field in Great Bend.
The fourth straight victory moves the Cougars into first place in the Jayhawk standings with 19 points at 6-2-1 and 12-3-2 overall, although having played two more conference matches than the Tigers, who sit second with 16 points at 5-1-1 and 8-1-1 on the year. Next up for Barton is a Wednesday road trip to southeast Kansas to face Coffeyville Community College in a 5:00 .m. kickoff, as the teams played to a 1-1 draw in their first meeting in Great Bend.
Battling against a heavy 30-plus mile-per-hour north wind in the opening half, the Cougars back line sustained the Cowley pressure to keep the match scoreless through 45-minutes. The change in direction ultimately proved decisive after the break as Barton capitalized with the wind at its backs.
Masaki Tsuji broke the deadlock in the 48th minute, blasting home Gabriel Henrique's through ball played into the middle of the box, beating the Tiger keeper inside the near post for his team leading 14th goal of the season and the eventual game winner.
Goalkeeper Gabriel Bergamin recorded two saves to notch his second shutout of the season, as Barton's defense was solid throughout the afternoon, helping the Cougars salvage the season series split.
BARTON SCORING SUMMARY
46:33: Masaki Tsuji (14); Assist: Gabriel Henrique (1)