Another close hard fought match. Another loss. This time it ended the season of the Barton Community College women’s soccer team.
For the second time this year the Cougars battled a Hutchinson Community College team that did not lose to a Region VI all team all season. And for the second time the Cougars came up one goal short. This time in the Region VI semifinals, ending Barton’s season with a 9-7-3 record. Barton lost to Hutchinson 1-0 Thursday afternoon at Hummer Park in Topeka. Earlier this year the Cougars dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to the Blue Dragons.
“It was a tough game for both teams,” Barton coach Aaron Avila said. “Our girls played hard but were not able to create enough going forward. It was a good season for this young group.”
The difference in the game was a Renee Gillespie goal in the 58th minute. Jen Rogers got possession a short goal kick from Barton’s Kacee Walsh into a strong north wind about 30 yards from the goal and fired a shot from just outside the box. Walsh got a hand on it but the ball hit off the right post and landed just outside the goal. Gillespie out-raced Walsh and a pair of Barton defenders to the ball and put it in the net for the game’s only goal.
Most of the match was a defensive battle as both teams combined to get nine shots on goal – five by Hutch and four by Barton.
Barton had three corner kicks in the opening half but couldn’t make them count. The Cougars had one last chance in the 89th minute on a direct free kick from 35 yards out but the ball never got through as the Blue Dragon back line blocked the kick.
The loss was the third straight year Barton ended its season in the semifinal of the region tournament but Barton returns a bevy of freshman as the Cougars look to next season.
“I am really expecting big things from this group of freshman for next year,” Coach Avila said.