By TODD MOORE
Barton Sports Info
In a battle of national ranked soccer teams Friday morning at the Cougar Soccer Complex, the 11th ranked Barton Community College men's team scored three unanswered to win 3-1 over Indian Hills Community College.
The result improves Barton to 3-0-1 on the year while Indian Hills takes their first loss in dropping to 3-1-1. Both teams return to the Complex on Sunday, Barton taking on Jefferson College for a 9:00 a.m. kick while the Warriors will play the 11:30 a.m. contest versus Otero Junior College to wrap up the Barton Classic weekend. In Friday's other contest, Otero improved to 4-0-0 on the season after defeating Jefferson to drop the Vikings to 0-5 on the year.
Following a scoreless defensive first half of just five shots, the teams combined for sixteen in the final forty-five minutes with Indian Hills breaking through 4:22 into the second half.
Having already forced Barton goalkeeper Dennis Bottcher into a 1v1 situation sixty seconds into the final period, the Warriors' Daniel Mulero's pass to Thomas Murrieri set up Fernando Pirri on the back side to beat Bottcher near post.
A pair of collegiate firsts provided the Cougars' equalizing goal with 27:32 remaining as Keishun Kanesaka punished the net near post from Maxence Voinier's cross.
Five minutes later it was defender Henrique Cruz' opportune time for his first collegiate goal, unmarked on the backside on Nickolas Galanis' 40-yard free kick to put away a rise-n-shine header giving the Cougars the lead.
Voinier would later give Barton a much needed cushion tally, getting loose by weaving through multiple defenders in sending a missile to the far post for his first collegiate goal in capping his three-point day.