TYLER, Texas — With three unanswered goals, the Barton completed its most productive season in school history.
Barton entered the national tournament ranked fourth in the nation behind Tyler, Monroe and Cincinnati State Tech, having never won a single national tournament game.
The Cougars left with a third-place finish after blanking the former No. 2 team, Monroe, out of Rochester, N.Y., 3-0. The win leaves Barton ranked No. 3 in the poll.
Just 18 minutes into the game, Ricardo Yeverino, who was starting his first tournament game since he received a two-game suspension for a red card in the Plains District game against Western Texas, made his presence known by putting the Cougars up 1-0 in the early going.
“Ricardo showed what we were missing in the first two games,” Twelvetrees said. “We kept the ball pretty much the entire game. We dominated the game.”
Kevin Ellis headed in a free kick from Sean Lynk to give the Cougars a 2-0 halftime lead.
Lynk claimed a goal of his own, when he blasted a free kick into the Monroe box. The Mustangs headed the ball back out, but Lynk was there to bury the ball into the net.