Box Score by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-The Barton College men's soccer team will be hosting a quarterfinals match in the Conference Carolinas Tournament for a third consecutive year with the third-seeded Bulldogs hosting sixth-seeded Belmont Abbey College on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Admission to the Barton Outdoor Athletic Complex to watch the match is free to all fans.
The Barton-Belmont Abbey winner will play the winner of the No. 7 seed King University at No. 2 seed Limestone College match in the semifinals on Friday (at highest remaining seed). The 16th nationally ranked Saints host the Tornado on Tuesday at 2 p.m. (LIVE STATS or VIDEO). The other half of the bracket features No. 5 seed Pfeiffer University visiting No. 4 seed Lees-McRae College and No. 8 seed Mount Olive College playing at top-seeded Erskine College. The championship game will be played on Sunday at 1 p.m. (higher seed).
Barton College Men's Soccer
The Bulldogs finished the regular season over .500 at 8-7-1 with a dominating 10-0 non-conference win at Chowan University on Wednesday.
Barton was an impressive 7-1 on the road including a 3-1 road win at Belmont Abbey on Oct. 12 to help secure the high seed and a home playoff game, but the Bulldogs struggled at home going 1-6-1 on the Barton Soccer Field. Five of the six home losses were by one goal.
However, Bulldog fans have been witness to Barton success on its home field in recent memory. The Bulldogs made a run to the championship game of the 2012 Conference Carolinas Tournament by advancing past North Greenville at home in the quarterfinals and Queens at home on penalty kicks in the semifinals. BC is 13-13-2 at home over the last three seasons to earn a trio of top-four finishes in the league.
Barton is paced by the Conference Carolinas leaders in assists and points in juniors Erik Pajunk and Dante De Luca, respectively. Pajunk has a league-high 12 assists and ranks third nationally with 0.75 assists per game. De Luca paces the conference with 31 points, ranking 11th nationally with 2.21 points per game. De Luca is second in the league with his 12 goals on the season (20th nationally with 0.86 goals per game).
Five Bulldogs have accounted for 85 percent of Barton's point production for a squad that ranks 20th nationally averaging 2.44 goals per game. The pack includes De Luca (12G, 7A, 31P), Pajunk (6G, 12A, 24P), senior Archer Bane (8G, 4A, 20P), junior Danilo Matos (5G, 2A, 12P) and sophomore Kevin Strassburger (3G, 4A, 10P).
Senior goalie Vasily Yakimkin has been one of the league's best all season and ranks third in the conference with a .737 save percentage and fourth with a 1.63 goals against average. Yakimkin's 4.56 saves per game is the second most in the league and ranks 66th nationally.
In Barton's regular season win against the Crusaders, the Bulldogs scored the first three goals and never trailed. Matos scored the opening tally and De Luca tacked on the next two scores. Yakimkin and the rest of the BC defense were closing in on a shutout before the Abbey scored in the 88th minute on a corner kick.
The victory 24 days ago marked the first time Barton had defeated Belmont Abbey since the 2001 season.
Belmont Abbey College Men's Soccer
The Crusaders moved into a three-way tie for fifth place in the league standings after finishing the regular season with a 4-2 road win at North Greenville on Saturday. Belmont Abbey (6-9, 3-5) garnered the sixth seed based upon tiebreaker rules and will be on the road for only its sixth time this season. The Crusaders have played 10 home games this season and are just 2-3 on the road.
Belmont Abbey has only scored 22 goals in 15 games (1.47 goals per game), but the Crusaders have found the back of the net seven times over the last two games in wins against Chowan and North Greenville.
Sophomore Declan McQuillan and senior Conor Wells paced the Crusaders with three goals apiece. A half dozen other Abbey players have scored twice in Mark Wallace, Mark Dandanell, Clay Dimick, Brice Nardozzi, Dominic Schneider and Justin Williams.
Belmont Abbey has only one shutout on the season – a 3-0 win against Chowan – but the Crusaders defense has limited the damage to a 2.07 goals against average. Senior goalie Kyle Searles is sixth in the league with a 1.82 goals against average and eighth with a .636 save percentage.
Wells spoiled the Bulldogs attempt at a shutout last month with his late goal off a Mark Wallace corner kick. Wells also scored a goal in the Crusaders last match in Wilson – a 3-1 triumph on Sept. 12, 2012. Belmont Abbey is 9-1-2 in its last dozen games against Barton.
Multimedia
Barton sports information will be providing live stats to Tuesday's Conference Carolinas Tournament quarterfinal match against Belmont Abbey.
Barton soccer fans can follow the Bulldogs throughout the season on www.BartonBulldogs.com and via social media including Twitter and Facebook.
