Box Score by Benny Benton
MISENHEIMER, N.C. – Barton College junior Erik Pajunk collected his third career hat trick Tuesday afternoon in leading the Bulldogs to a 5-2 Conference Carolinas men's soccer victory over host Pfeiffer University.
With the win, the Bulldogs clinched at least third place in the league and guaranteed themselves a first-round home match in the quarterfinals of the Conference Carolinas Tournament. Barton is now 5-2 in the league, a full game ahead of fourth-place Lees-McRae with one match to play, and it holds the tiebreaker thanks to a 1-0 win over the Bobcats on Oct. 5.
Pajunk, a junior from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, provided the go-ahead goal in the 62nd minute when he won a ball from a defender near midfield and fired a shot into the lower left corner past Pfeiffer keeper Nicolas Dulac to break a 2-all tie. He added an important insurance goal 20 minutes later on his third strike of the match, a shot from outside the box off an assist from Dante De Luca.
The Bulldogs, now 7-6-1 overall, also received goals from junior Danilo Matos and senior Archer Bane, and an assist from senior Ricardo Oliveira.
The victory was Barton's sixth straight this season on the road, and ended a four-game win streak for the Falcons (7-7-1, 2-5).
Barton took a 1-0 advantage in the match just 2:28 into the contest on a goal by Matos, who has scored the Bulldogs' first goal in each of their last three wins.
The Bulldogs continued to pressure the Falcons, taking six shots in the game's first 12 minutes. Despite that, the score remained 1-0 until just before halftime, when Pajunk curled a free kick into the upper right-hand corner of the net to give the Bulldogs a two-goal cushion going into the break.
Pfeiffer took just five shots in the opening frame, but fired eight in the first 15 minutes of the second period. One of those, just 3:05 into the half, found the net off the foot of Corey Davis, his fifth of the year. The goal came on a rebound off a missed shot from Trevor Dean.
Five minutes later, Kyle Toler tied the match at 2-all with his third goal of the season off an assist from Simon Leslie, but Pajunk would soon put Barton back into the lead for good with the second of his three goals.
The Falcons finished the day just six shots behind Barton (22-16), but just four attempts by Pfeiffer were on goal, with Bulldog keeper Vasily Yakimkin saving two. Barton put 10 of its attempts between the pipes, with Dulac stopping five.
Barton limited Pfeiffer's leading scorer, Nathan Regis, to just one shot in the match. Regis had eight goals on the year, including a total of six in the last four matches.
The Falcons enjoyed a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks, but could not convert those into goals. Pfeiffer was plagued by fouls, committing 18 to Barton's two, and was called offside six times, including once in the first half that disallowed a goal.
Barton will hold its final league match and last home game of 2013 on Saturday at 3 p.m. when it entertains King University. The Bulldogs will have Senior Day recognitions that day before a Homecoming crowd.
