Box Score by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-Junior Carlos Recinos (Houston, Texas) was able to score minutes after a 38-minute lightning delay and No. 7 nationally ranked Coker College was able to bunker down on wet and slow pitch to preserve a 1-0 Conference Carolinas men's soccer victory over host Barton College on Wednesday night.
With the victory the Cobras clinched the inaugural East Division title in Conference Carolinas. Coker won for a 12th consecutive time to improve to 13-1 overall and 8-0 in the league.
Barton – ranked No. 10 nationally in total offense with 2.62 goals per game – was unable to use its speed against a defensive-minded Coker team that ranks No. 8 in goals against average because of a soggy field that did not allow the Bulldogs to make crisp cuts and quick sprints.
Junior goalkeeper James Sweeney (Huntingtown, Md.) and the Cobras defense posted its sixth shutout. Ten of the Cobras 13 wins have come by one goal.
The Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, duo of sophomore Erik Pajunk and freshman Dante De Luca accounted for seven of the Bulldogs nine shots. Pajunk put three of his four attempts on frame but Sweeney made the save each time.
The start of the showdown was delayed by a 0-0 double overtime women's game, allowing rain to start during pregame. Just a couple minutes into play the game was delayed due to lightning in the vicinity of the Barton Outdoor Athletic Complex.
After the lengthy delay, Recinos notched the game-winner in the 9th minute. Recinos – the reigning Conference Carolinas Player of the Week – t ook a pass from junior Noah Lascell (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) and ripped a laser into the lower left corner for his team-high 11th goal.
Coker had many chances in the second half to score an insurance goal but Barton senior netminder Brian Riesenburg (Fort Thomas, Ky.) made six of his nine saves in the final 45 minutes. Riesenburg (9-2) suffered his second loss of his final season.
The Bulldogs did not have many scoring opportunities but Pajunk attempted to make things interesting in the final five minutes. Pajunk ripped a hard long-range shot on frame in the 87th minute before taking both an offensive free kick and corner kick in the final 90 seconds.
In a matchup of Southeast Region ranked programs, the top-ranked Cobras held 16-9 shot and 5-2 corner kick advantages over the eighth-ranked Bulldogs.
Barton will next host Conference Carolinas newcomer King College on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m., as part of the College's Homecoming.
