The No. 8 Barton Community College men’s soccer team controlled the tempo from start to finish Saturday evening, posting a 6-1 road win over Garden City Community College at Broncbuster Stadium.
The third straight victory keeps the Cougars in second play in the Jayhawk standings with 13 points at 4-2-1 and 9-3-2 overall, while the Broncbusters remain fourth in league play at 3-4-0 and 9-4-2 on the season. Barton will continue its road swing Tuesday afternoon with a 4:30 p.m. non-conference contest against the Tabor College junior varsity squad before returning to league play Wednesday against No. 13 Dodge City Community College.
Barton wasted little time setting the tone, jetting ahead in the 12th minute as Samuele Mailer cleaning up a blocked shot from Gustavo Soares for his fourth goal of the year. Just over two minutes later, Masaki Tsuji‘s cross deflected off traffic in front, resulting in an own goal to double the margin.
Garden City briefly cut the deficit to 2-1 midway through the first half, before Tsuji struck just ahead of the intermission break, restoring the two-goal advantage with his team leading 12th goal of the season.
Maintaining pressure throughout the second half, the Cougars put the Broncbusters in the taillights, striking three times over the final seven minutes. Angel Sainz netted his seventh of the season in the 83rd minute with a clever chip over the onrushing keeper going upper-90 far post following a midfield steal by Mailer and a one touch setup from Kotaro Kimura.
The closing surge continued into the final minute, as Briac Mathez tallied his first collegiate goal driving home Kimura’s through ball. Just 38 seconds later, Soares capped the night by cleaning up a deflected free kick left in front of the net for his second goal of the season.
Goalkeeper Gabriel Bergamin finished with five saves in the victory, anchoring a Barton defensive that held the Broncbusters scoreless over the final 70-minutes.
BARTON SCORING SUMMARY
3:57: Samuele Mailer (4)
9:29: Own Goal
38:47: Masaki Tsuji (12)
82:50: Angel Sainz (7); Assist: Samuele Mailer (2), Kotaro Kimura (2)
89:11: Briac Mathez (1); Assist: Kotaro Kimura (3)
89:49: Gustavo Soares (2)
