It was a breather – of sorts.
The Barton men’s soccer team got to step away from the rigors of the Jayhawk Conference race Tuesday afternoon at the Cougars Soccer Complex – a bit of a breather if you will. But the competition said otherwise.
The Cougars were able to ride their strong defense to a 2-0 shutout of Maple Woods (Mo) to improve to 12-2 on the season. Maple Woods is 4-8 on the season.
“After completing a tough and taxing conference week, we were able to get a good result against a non-conference opponent,” Barton Coach Aaron Avila said.
That defense has been key for the Cougars of late as Barton earned its second shutout in the last five games and fifth of the season.
The Cougars allowed the Monarchs just three shots the entire game.
But while Barton was holding Maple Woods in check, the Monarchs were doing likewise to the Cougars. Barton shot a season-low nine times during the match.
Most of the contest was spent in a scoreless defensive battle.
Barton finally broke through with just more than 10 minutes to play in the match. Uriel Heredia put the Cougars on the board with 12:50 to play when he took a Juan Barron thru ball and buried in the net for what would prove to be the game-winner.
Renan Sousa ended any doubt with his 13th goal of the season in the waning minutes. Sousa stole a pass near midfield and made his way thru the Monarch defense, beating the keeper near post for a 2-0 lead with 3:13 left.
The Cougars will now put their focus back to the Jayhawk Conference where they are in a 3-way battle for first place. Barton, due to losses to Pratt and Cloud County, does not control its own destiny for the title. The most Barton controls is a tie for second.
Pratt can win the conference with a win at Cowley Friday.
The Cougars will put their 6-2 Jayhawk mark on the line Saturday when Coffeyville comes to Great Bend. The Red Ravens, traditionally one of the top teams in the region, are 0-7-1 in the conference and 4-10-1 overall.
The regular season ends Monday in Kansas City against KCK.