Box Score by Kevin Buczek
BELMONT, N.C.-Sophomore Erik Pajunk notched a game-high three points for Barton College in a 5-2 Conference Carolinas men's soccer loss at Belmont Abbey College on Thursday afternoon at Alumni Field.
The Crusaders (5-6 Overall, 3-3 Conf.) tallied a season-high five goals with five different scorers to earn a key win against the seventh regionally ranked Bulldogs (7-3, 4-3). Barton has suffered all three of its losses on the road and will look to get back into the win column at home against regionally ranked UNC Pembroke on Monday at 7 p.m.
Pajunk – ranked in the top-10 nationally in all six offensive categories as of the latest NCAA statistics report – posted one goal and one assist for Barton. The Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, native increased his staggering totals to 11 goals, 9 assists and 31 points on the season.
Statistically, the Crusaders held the advantage in shots (18-15) and corner kicks (6-5) as Ross Smith powered the Abbey in front just 12:39 in, running down a Conor Wells chip pass and besting Barton sophomore goalie Dalton Bauer to the right side for a 1-0 lead.
Bauer, making his first start of the season for injured senior Brian Riesenberg (Fort Thomas, Ky.) allowed five goals and made four saves over 90 minutes.
Barton struck back quickly with the equalizer, as Pajunk sailed a corner kick to the center of the box, where sophomore Ricardo Oliveira (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) redirected it with his head into the lower right corner for the goal. Oliveira has two goals on the season.
When it appeared both teams would go into the halftime break tied at one, Carlos Hernandez put the Crusaders on top for good with just under three minutes to go in the stanza. Mauricio Lopez gained possession of a loose ball in his own half of the field and thundered a high pass over the Barton back line. Hernandez beat everyone to the ball and was left with a one on one with Bauer, whom he beat for his first career goal.
The Crusaders carried a 2-1 edge into break and stretched it to 3-1 just 13 minutes into the final half, as Stuart Kirk broke free down the left sideline, beat two defenders to the box and curved a right footed shot just inside the right post for his first goal of the year. Four minutes later, Timmi Borges Da Silva was pulled down just inside the penalty area, and Jack Reid buried the ensuing penalty kick.
The final two goals of the match were scored just 19 seconds apart, starting with a Pajunk goal from 20 yards out to the left of the box to cut the Abbey lead in half, but the Crusaders answered just 19 seconds later, as Jose Penaloza scored on a wild play, that started with Smith's run to the left of the goal that pulled Bauer off his line. He slipped a pass to Penaloza at the right post, who turned, dribbled, swerved away from two defenders to the center of the goal mouth, and lashed a shot into the center of the goal before the trailing defenders could defend the play.
Abbey goalkeeper Louis Liberatore made seven saves.
