by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – The Barton College men's soccer team hopes to continue building upon the momentum of three straight conference victories on Saturday when it visits Due West, S.C. for a 3:30 p.m. matchup against Erskine College.
The Bulldogs and Flying Fleet stand third and fourth, respectively, in the Conference Carolinas standings, separated by a single point.
Erskine sports information will provide live stats and video for Saturday's contest.
Barton soccer fans can follow the Bulldogs all season on www.BartonBulldogs.com and via social media including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Barton College Men's Soccer
The Bulldogs (8-4, 4-2) used a stingy defense to limit Pfeiffer University, the fifth-highest scoring team in the nation, to just eight shots and no goals on Thursday night in a 3-0 victory.
Defensive starters Nick Ahlquist, Drew Williams, Jovan Gracia and Tyler Dew joined freshman keeper Jens Madsen Hordvik in leading the effort to blank the Falcons, the second-place team in the league and the fifth-ranked team in the Southeast Region.
The victory was the third straight shutout and fifth of the year for the Bulldogs, which started the week ranked No. 10 in the region.
Freshman Alex Blake, senior Dante De Luca and junior Kevin Strassburger provided the offense for Barton, which scored three goals for the second straight match. The Bulldogs have reached three goals in a game six times this year.
Senior Erik Pajunk continues to pace the team in goals with six, followed closely by De Luca and sophomore Alex David with five each. Strassburger has three goals on the year and shares the team lead in assists (4) with Pajunk.
Hordvik is sixth in the league in save percentage (.738) and goals against average (1.33), and is riding a streak of 271 consecutive shutout minutes in goal.
The Bulldogs are seeking their first win over the Fleet since 2011 and their first victory in Due West in a decade.
Erskine College Men's Soccer
The Flying Fleet (6-4-2, 3-1-2) is 3-1-1 in its last five matches, and is coming off a 3-2 overtime victory against Southern Wesleyan University. Freshman Stian Tsesmetsis scored the golden goal just 46 seconds into the extra period, the first of his career.
Senior Andrew Settlemire also scored in the contest with his team-high ninth goal, which ranks second in the league. He also ranks second in the conference in points with 21. Junior transfer Joe O'Neill and sophomore Martin Maschio Jr. are a distant second on the squad in scoring with three goals each.
Settlemire was the 2013 Offensive Player of the Year in the league, and is one of three returning all-conference players from last year's 12-6-1 squad that shared the Conference Carolinas regular season title. Also on that list were midfielder Ross Henderson and defender Ugo Galtier.
Galtier is the lone returning starter along the back row, however. The Fleet not only had to replace three starting defenders, but also the league's Defensive Player of the Year in senior keeper Roberto De La Vina.
De La Vina posted six saves last season against Barton and Peter Savarese scored on a header off a throw-in late in the first half to help Erskine escape Wilson with a 1-0 victory.
Erskine's new keeper is Fiore Costa. The freshman is third in the league in total saves with 57 and fifth in save percentage (.760) but ninth in goals against average (1.45). He has played all but roughly 23 minutes of Erskine's season, logging more than 1,100 minutes, and has two shutouts.
The Fleet and Bulldogs are not only close in the standings, but also in their numbers. Barton is fourth in the league in both goals scored (26) and goals allowed (16), while Erskine is fifth in both categories (24 scored, 18 allowed).
Erskine is 2-1-2 at home this year as it welcomes the Bulldogs to Huggins Field on Homecoming. Barton is 3-3 on the road in 2014.
