Facing a two goal deficit in Wednesday's first few minutes in Snyder, Texas, the Barton Community College men's soccer team regrouped to grind out a gritty 4-3 overtime victory at Western Texas College.
A perennial power out of Region V, the Westerners jumped on the Cougars with a pair of goals in the first three minutes with the first coming just 54 seconds after the kick-off and the second coming as just 2:23 clicked off the clock.
Making a lineup change ten minutes later, the Cougars started to settle down and turn more offensive resulting in cutting the deficit in half at the 20th minute.
Aidan Hill, who would dish out a three-pack of assists in the contest, found Damia Viader though the defense and with a one-touch over to Gabriel Arraes, the Cougars sliced the margin.
Five minutes before halftime, the combination of Hill and Arraes delivered again with Hill through ball setting Arraes up for his third goal of the year in netting the equalizer.
The second half continued to be a battle with the Cougars breaking through at the 21st minute as Hill's through ball set up Hiroo Kimura in a 1v1 situation resulting in the sophomore from Japan rattling the net for the third time of his career.
Like the Cougars, the Westerners were equally gutty and savvy in forcing overtime at Weaver Field with a net shaker with seven minutes to play.
With temperatures sustained at near the 100-degree mark in the west Texas plains, the Cougars' Head Coach Mike Brown utilized his depth and strategy adjustments throughout the contest with the final substitution leading to the game winner in overtime.
Making a run on the outside, Mario Magana sent a cross to the weak side to find Diego Ribeiro. Having just entered the game thirty seconds later, the Overland Park native shined in his opportunity with a clutch one-touch pass to fellow freshman Tevin Rochester for the Jamaican's first collegiate goal stopping the clock at the 3:30 mark.
Handing Western Texas its first loss in dropping to 2-1, Barton improves to 2-0 on the season. The Cougars will have another road trip in its near future, traveling to NOC-Tonkawa for a 4:00 p.m. Saturday kick before hosting its Jayhawk Conference opener next Wednesday hosting Garden City Community College.