The Barton Community College men’s soccer team opened its season in fine fashion, routing the Kansas Wesleyan junior varsity squad 6-0 on Friday evening.
The five-goal second half was highlighted by a hat trick recorded by Sean Lynk, a sophomore from Nottingham, England. It was a fitting way to open the new soccer/track complex, which hadn’t had a soccer game played on it until Friday’s game.
“I think we started slow, but I think we got better as the game went on,” Barton head coach Oliver Twelvetrees said. “We started finding our rhythm with the passing and we looked pretty solid in the back.”
Only one goal was scored during a first half as the Cougars, who were ranked third in the nation in the NJCAA preseason poll, squandered scoring opportunities by making extra passes instead of taking the shot on goal.
“They were a little nervous,” Twelvetrees said. “It was their first game of the year. They really just needed to pull the trigger, and we told them at halftime, ‘Just put your foot through the ball and get your shot off.
“In the second half, they did, and we scored five goals.”
Nestor Morales was the one who pulled the trigger first, but the shot ricocheted off of a Coyotes defender and into the goal with nine minutes, 58 seconds left in the first half.
At the 26:16 mark in the second half, the scoring frenzy began.
It started with Johnson Shaad getting past the defense and putting a shot over the Coyotes goalkeeper Alex Montiel and into the net.
Less than a minute later, Lynk struck his first shot into the goal on a give-and-go play from Ahmad Bah.
Fabio Priore scored next with 11:46 remaining in the game. Shaad got the assist as Priore took a shot from the edge of the goalie’s box over the goalkeeper.
Lynk picked up his final two goals within two minutes of each other.
He struck the ball low past the goalie to score at the 6:39 mark and two minutes later, he maneuvered around the goalie for a soft shot into an empty net.
“It was amazing,” Lynk, who accounted for one goal all of last year, said. “It was the first time I’ve scored a hat trick in my life, so I really enjoyed it. I tripled my score tally already, so I am happy about that.
“Coach said at halftime that we needed to start pulling the trigger. So every time I got the chance, I thought I’d go for it.”
The Cougars are back in action today at 2 p.m., when they host Otero (Colo.). On Tuesday, Barton will host Hesston College. The game starts at 4 p.m.