Seven different Cougars rattled the nets Wednesday at the Cougar Soccer Complex as the Barton Community College men's soccer team pitched another shutout in a 7-0 victory over Pratt Community College.
The win sets up a pivotal conference game Saturday at Cloud County Community College (5-0-0), 6-3-0) on Saturday as the Cougars sit behind the T-birds at 3-0-1 in the Jayhawk and 7-1-1 overall. Pratt slides to 1-4-0 and 3-5-0 on the season. Kick-off time for Saturday's contest set for 8:00 p.m. at Concordia's Harold M. Clark Stadium.
The Cougars charged into a 25-30mph south wind for the first half but didn't stifle the attack as Barton launched sixteen shots in rattling the nets four out of their seven shots on frame.
Sora Wakabayashi not only got the Cougars on the board but connected on the Japanese sophomore's first goal of the season with an ankle-breaker move at the top of the eighteen before moving past a pair of Pratt defenders to strike lower far post giving Barton the eventual game winner 6:49 into the contest.
It took Barton another seventeen minutes to expand the lead but then hung a pair on the scoreboard within seventy seconds with Wakabayashi again getting in the action launching a cross to Aidan Hill for his second of the season on the back post goal.
The Cougars put together a number of set pieces with near misses but on the attack after Hill's goal, Hill began a nice piece sending a cross in from the right side to Hiroo Kimura who then one-touched to Tevin Rochester whose header banged off the crossbar. There on the door step was Gabriel Arraes to stuff in the rebound increasing his conference leading goal total to ten.
Following a one-of-many Cougar missed quality scoring opportunities, Pratt went on the offensive but Barton goalkeeper Felipe Baeza made two big time clutch saves on different attacks to keep the sheet clean.
Rochester closed out the Barton first half scoring with 2:57 remaining on a right-footed shot fake at top of eighteen, turning to the left past the defender to launch a left boot strike to far post for the Jamaican freshman's fourth goal of the season.
Flipping wind advantage for second half play, the Cougars increased their shot launches to twenty while putting eleven on frame in tacking on three more to the scoreboard.
Barton increased their lead mid-way through second half action when Edinburg, Texas, freshman Roberto Hernandez rebounded Arraes' block shot with 23:04 left with a 15-yard rocket to the near post to rattle the nets in his first collegiate goal.
Less than a minute later Diego Ribeiro found Damia Viader on the left flank who then beat the keeper near post for his second goal of the of the Spain native's season increasing the margin to six.
Ribeiro chalked up another assist on the Cougars' final goal with 2:22 remaining setting up Colin Roemer on the left flank for a rocket across the box inside the far post for his fourth goal of the season.
The Cougars uncorked thirty-six shots on the afternoon while Baeza and the defensive front held the Beavers to just eleven shots and rejecting the six on frame.