The Barton Community College men's soccer team exceeded last year's haul of the conference and region postseason awards as awarded by the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference and Region VI.
Fielding just eleven players on the field at one time, the Cougars landed six of their twelve selections on the first team of the All-Conference Western Division squad while all six of Barton's All-Region selections landed on the first team.
Earning the conference Coach of the Year, third year Head Coach Mike Brown along with volunteer assistant coach Humberto Estrada guided the 2018 Cougars to the NJCAA National Championship game for the program's highest ever placing. Dropping the title game 2-1 with four minutes to play in double overtime, the Cougars completed the season 21-2-2 to match the 2010 squad for most victories in program history. Along the way Brown's Cougars secured the program's ninth Jayhawk West crown, the program's sixth Region VI title, and the fourth Plains District title in making the men's soccer's fourth national tournament appearance.
A key ingredient to the Cougars' success was the play and leadership of sophomore defenseman Victor Gonzalez. Voted as the conference Defensive Player of the Year, Gonzalez anchored a stout defensive line that posted thirteen shutouts on the season as the Madrid, Spain, native repeated his first team conference selection while landing on the Region VI's first team as well.
Holding down the midfield to earn consecutive first team conference honors was Hiroo Kimura. Landing on the region's second team last year, the Urayasu-shi Chiba, Japan, sophomore scored three and dished out three assist on the year. Improving on last year's second team conference selection, fellow Japan native Sora Wakabayashi earned first team honors on both the conference and region awards as the Himeji native recorded three goals and two assists while helping to hold down the defensive end of the field.
Tops in the region in both scoring and goals, Gabriel Arraes had a break out sophomore season to earn first team honors on both the conference and region squads. The native of Recife, Brazil, rattled the nets a program third best twenty times to climb into the storied top ten list in the eight spot with twenty-six career goals. Arraes also dished out a team third best nine assists in accumulating forty-nine points for the fifth best single season achievement and a seventh best career point total of sixty-two.
Two dynamic freshmen joined the four as Damen Marcu and Tevin Rochester each earned first team selections on the conference and region award lists, as well as, were named to the NJCAA Division I All-Tournament team. Each were second on the team in goals scored on the year as Rochester netted ten on the year as the Kingston, Jamaica, native had given Barton a 1-0 national championship lead until a 11:16 Pima Community College goal spoiled sent the game into overtime. Marcu, out of Denver, Colorado, was a dual threat on the Cougar front line with a team third best seven goals and nine assists to tie Rochester for the second spot in points scored with twenty-three.
Second Team All-Conference Selections:
Felipe Baeza – (Sophomore goalkeeper, Santiago, Chile)
A six-time conference and two-time national goalkeeper of the week, Baeza helped turn a good Barton defense into a great defense with eleven shutouts allowing just .54 goals against in eighteen games in net. One of the top keepers of the net in the nation, Baeza's lone loss of the season came in the national title game to finish 16-1-1 on the year.
Chris Camilli – (Sophomore midfield, Maracaibo, Venezuela)
Camilli was able to guard some of the top offensive threats and was a mainstay in the defensive midfield that allowed just twenty-two goals and posted thirteen shutouts.
Mario Magana – (Freshman forward, Emporia, KS)
Whether he was in the starting lineup or part of the Cougars' infamous second wave of attack, Magana was another scoring option in finding the net a team fourth best six times on the season. Magana's greatest contribution to the team was second gear of energy, breaking down defenses while keying set pieces to the tune of a squad second best ten assists to land on the program's tenth spot for best single season performance.
Colin Roemer – (Sophomore forward, Woelferlingen, RP, Germany)
A first team conference and region selection his freshman year, Roemer was another lethal threat option for the Cougars scoring seventeen points behind five goals and seven assists. Roemer left his mark in the Barton record book as well in a tie for the fifth best career assist mark with thirteen total.
Robin Rouaud – (Freshman defender, Lorient, France)
Rouaud was another key contributor to the defensive wall of the Cougars while also delivering three key goals on the season including Barton's first goal six minutes into the Plains District semifinals igniting the Cougars to four first half goals.
Nicolas Torres – (Freshman midfielder, Santiago, Chile)
Much like Magana, Torres brought an offensive threat to the pitch in any role and at any time accounting for sixteen points on the season. Torres was especially bigtime in Barton's playoff run, rattling the net three of his five times during the year including the Cougars' first goal in the national tournament and dishing out three of his six assists on the season in the Plains District tournament.
Mysteriously left off both the conference and region awards was the region's top distributor in Damia Viader. Chalking up a program third best thirteen assists on the season to also rank fifth in a career, the freshman from Barcelona, Spain, helped key the nation's third prolific goal scoring offense.
Complete KJCCC All-West Conference list
Complete All-Region VI list