Box Score by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-The Barton College men's soccer team ripped a pair of shots off the goal post but were unable score in a 3-0 non-conference loss to Palm Beach Atlantic University on a cold Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs, who finished the regular season 11-6, celebrated Senior Day before the match as the coaching staff and underclassmen honored goalkeeper Brian Riesenberg (Fort Thomas, Ky.), defender Mitchell Pool (Wake Forest, N.C.) and forward Cesar Grobel (Sao Paulo, Brazil).
Barton enters the 2011 Conference Carolinas Tournament as the third seed and will host the sixth seeded Erskine College Flying Fleet on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs defeated Erskine 2-1 in overtime on Oct. 15.
Midway through the first half, Grobel had a series of chances to give Barton the lead including a pair of shots in the 23rd minute. Grobel's first attempt bounced off the crossbar and his second try was saved by junior goalkeeper Jonathan Strunk (Evanston, Ill.).
Strunk finished with three saves en route to the shutout as the Sailfish improved to 10-7.
Junior Kenny Hogg (Irvine, Scotland) provided PBA with a 1-0 halftime lead with a last minute goal. The Bulldogs defense was unable to clear a long Sailfish throw-in and sophomore James Kaim (Niceville, Fla.) was able to quickly chip the ball to Hogg, who blasted in his team-high 16th goal of the season just 46 seconds before the intermission.
Barton had several chances at tying the score early in the second half. Pool took a free kick from inside the midfield circle and his laser sailed just over the cage in the 51st minute. Freshman Dante De Luca (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) followed with a shot in the 57th minute that clanked off the post.
Palm Beach Atlantic pulled away late with a pair of unassisted goals in the final 15 minutes as Barton emptied its bench to rest up for Tuesday's playoff game. Freshman Michael Emert (Lakeland, Fla.) took advantage of a loose ball in the box in the 76th minute and classmateGustavo da Silva (Sao Paulo, Brazil) completed the visitors scoring in the 85th minute with a 25-yard strike.
Riesenberg made four saves for the Bulldogs.
PBA finished with a 16-10 shot advantage while Barton held a 6-4 corner kick edge.
