A second half man advantage sparked a late surge for the No. 9 Barton Community College men's soccer team Friday morning, as two goals in the final 14 minutes flipped the script for a 2-1 comeback victory over No. 14 Otero College at Broncbuster Stadium in Garden City.
Snapping a two-match skid, the Cougars improve to 6-3-1 overall while the Rattlers drop to 6-3-1. Barton will have a quick turnaround, returning to conference play, Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. kickoff against Coffeyville Community College at Great Bend's Cavanaugh Field.
Otero jumped on top just four minutes in, capitalizing on a Cougar miscue deep in its own end. A defensive pass back to the goalkeeper was intercepted and quickly transitioned into a through ball and one-time finish for the early 1-0 edge.
Remaining 1-neil at the break, the momentum swung with just over 30 minutes remaining when the Rattlers were dealt to a man disadvantage after a second yellow card resulted into a red card ejection.
Playing a man up, Barton's steadily pressure finally paid off in the 77th minute as Masaki Tsuji's initial shot attempt inside the box was blocked but deflecting off an Otero defender's back and into the net for the equalizer.
Less than three minutes ensuing, the go-ahead strike came. Rafael Calmon drove into the attacking third and slipped a precise near side through ball into the box, where Tsuji buried a far post finish for his team leading eighth goal of the season to secure the 2-1 result.
After being outshot 7-1 in the opening frame, Barton flipped the script to finish with a 16-11 advantage, including a 15-4 second half edge. Goalkeeper Pedro Lisboa turned aside three of Otero's four shots on goal to earn the victory, while the Rattlers Ivan Dorado Madera collected two denials.
BARTON SCORING SUMMARY
76:21: Otero Own Goal
78:52: Masaki Tsuji (8); Assist: Rafael Calmon (2)