Cougars battle for 2-2 tie
For 110 minutes, neither Cougar team could get the edge as the Barton Community College and Western Nebraska Community College men’s soccer teams had to settle for a 2-2 tie Saturday at the Cougar Soccer/Track Complex. Barton moves to 0-1-1 on the season while Western Nebraska opens the season with the tie. Barton will return to the pitch on Sunday for a 4:00 p.m. game against Trinidad State Junior College while Western Nebraska will take on the former Barton Head Coach Kevin Kewley’s Pratt Community College Beaver team in a noon matchup.
For 110 minutes, neither Cougar team could get the edge as the Barton Community College and Western Nebraska Community College men's soccer teams had to settle for a 2-2 tie Saturday at the Cougar Soccer/Track Complex. Barton moves to 0-1-1 on the season while Western Nebraska opens the season with the tie. Barton will return to the pitch on Sunday for a 4:00 p.m. game against Trinidad State Junior College while Western Nebraska will take on the former Barton Head Coach Kevin Kewley's Pratt Community College Beaver team in a noon matchup.
The Cougars of Western Nebraska got on the scoreboard first getting a David Hernandez goal with eleven minutes remaining in the first half. Barton's Enrique Guyton would get the equalizer with just over three minutes remaining taking a Renan Sousa through ball and burying it just inside the far post past the diving Cougar goalkeeper Austin Settles.
Barton took the lead late in the second half as Jiro Barriga Toyama got loose in the 18' only to get tackled before launching a shot. Defenseman Christopher Hogg stepped in to earn the penalty kick goal giving the Cougars the one goal lead with fourteen minutes remaining.
Less than three minutes later the Cougars' Ivan Sakou broke through the defense fielding a Sage Pemberton cross and found the back of the net tying the contest at the 11:26 mark left in regulation.
Both teams had their chances in the pair of ten minutes of extra time with Barton's Barriga Toyama having the best chance in the first period but the freshman from Japan's strike sailed just wide of its mark. In the second extra frame Jony Arias nearly got Barton the victory but the Cougars' Settles again came up with a big save deflecting the shot just over the crossbar.