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McCrillis scores twice as Cougars tie No. 19-ranked Otero
Barton Soccer Notebook
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The Barton Community College men’s soccer team concluded the season-opening Barton Classic with a 2-2 stalemate against No. 19-ranked Otero on Sunday.
The Cougars (1-0-1) led most of the game with Sam McCrillis scoring both Barton goals.
“Sam has three goals and one assist (after two games),” Barton head coach Oliver Twelvetrees said. “He’s been a part of every goal we’ve scored so far this year. He’s kind of got the team on his shoulders right now.
“Ezequiel Alvarez had the assist in both goals. It’s nice to see Sam and him on the same page like that.”
Barton led 2-1 heading into the final 10 minutes before Otero scored the equalizer.
“We kind of let the game go,” Twelvetrees said. “We let ourselves down. The boys showed a lot of heart working through two overtimes this early in the season.
“It was a long throw in, and the ball bounced in the box twice. It is a Cardinal sin of defenders to let the ball bounce in the box.”
The tie came a day after the Cougars downed No. 18-ranked Northwest 2-0, making a push to get into the National Junior College Athletics Association Top 20 poll. Barton is on the list of teams receiving votes.
Barton was ranked No. 1 last season before the NJCAA ruled that one of its players did not meet the eligibility requirements, stripping it of four victories.
Twelvetrees’ Cougars play host to Western Nebraska on Sunday at 1 p.m.
“I think if we can get a win this weekend, we should be able to get up there,” Twelvetrees said. “Anything less than a win won’t do, not after we tied.
“Sunday’s a big game. We’ll see if we can get back to our winning ways.”
Barton travels to Salina on Wednesday for a scrimmage against the Kansas Weslyan junior varsity.

Lady Cougars fall to Otero
The young Barton women’s soccer team came out slow against Otero on Sunday, allowing the Lady Rattlers an early 4-0 lead.
Otero finished with a 6-2 win, dropping the Lady Cougars to 1-1 on the season.
“I think we came out a bit nervous,” Barton head coach Aaron Avila said. “We made a lot of mistakes in that first half, and gave them a lot of chances. They finished those chances.”
Bianca Barron scored in the first half to break up the shutout, but Otero scored again to make it 5-1 before halftime.
Courtney Galliher scored in the second half for the Lady Cougars.
Barton hosts Western Nebraska on Sunday morning at 11.
— Kevin Price