The Barton Community College men’s soccer team saw its season come to a narrow end Tuesday evening in Daytona Beach, falling 4–3 to host and 4th-seeded Daytona State College in the decisive Pool D matchup of the NJCAA Division I National Tournament.
The 5th-seeded Cougars conclude their 2025 campaign at 17-5-2, while Daytona State (14-2-2) advances to Thursday’s national semifinal round.
Daytona State struck quickly, capitalizing just 2:50 into the contest when Lance Talley buried a rebound after Gabriel Bergamin turned away the initial attempt from Kayoum M’Bamba.
A slick and worn pitch proved costly in the 24th minute as a Barton defender slipped while attempting a clear, allowing Santiago Apolaro’s soft, bouncing effort to glance off the post and in, sending the Cougars to halftime facing a 2–0 deficit.
The Falcons added a third in the 62nd minute on a counterattack, with Carlos Rojas finishing a feed from Joachim Kyei to deepen the hole.
Despite the odds, Barton refused to fold. Utilizing fresh legs from a deep bench after back-to-back match days, the Cougars ignited a furious rally that reignited the contest.
The surge began in the 71st minute when Rafael Soares‘ corner was nodded on by Diogo Gimenez, allowing Gabriel Henrique to rise and break the shutout from the back post.
Just over two minutes later, the margin was suddenly one as Gustavo Soares threaded a ball through traffic to Masaki Tsuji, who hammered home his team-leading 16th of the season at the 72:47 mark.
Shortly after a no-call in the box on Tsuji being knocked down, Daytona State countered quickly, drawing a penalty of their own as Pedro Lisboa collided with Josue Youta in a race to the ball. Youta converted the spot kick to the near post for his 12th of the year, restoring a two-goal cushion with 6:38 remaining.
True to form of the never say quit Cougars, Barton mounted another push. With 3:44 left, Sho Kinjo pounced on a blocked Gimenez shot and smashed home his third of the season, keeping the Cougars alive.
Barton continued to surge forward and nearly found the equalizer ninety seconds later as Christopher Goerler‘s bending effort curled just inches wide with roughly two minutes to play, leaving the valiant comeback ultimately falling short.
Barton outshot the Falcons 17–12, including an 11–8 edge on target, and held a commanding 7–1 advantage in corner kicks.
Goalkeepers Bergamin and Lisboa split the halves, combining for four saves, with Lisboa making three in the final 45 minutes to close his freshman season at 5–3–1.
