Box Score by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – Freshman defender Danny Peru made his first collegiate goal a huge one, scoring 2:45 into overtime to give Barton College a 3-2 victory over Lees-McRae College in a battle of regionally-ranked programs Saturday at the Barton Outdoor Athletics Complex.
The win was the fourth in a row for the Bulldogs over a team currently ranked in the NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division II Regional Polls and the sixth straight overall. Barton, ranked No. 6 in the Southeast Region, improved to 11-4 overall and 6-2 in Conference Carolinas, while Lees-McRae, ranked No. 9 in the region, slipped to 9-5-1 overall and 4-3-1 in league play.
Peru, a hometown product of Wilson Christian Academy, got a foot on a shot attempt by teammate Kevin Strassburger, redirecting it just inside the right post and past Lees-McRae keeper Nicholas Stover for the golden goal as a spirited Homecoming crowd erupted.
The score also put a festive ending on a Senior Night that nearly turned memorable for the wrong reason after the Bulldogs gave away a two-goal first-half lead despite playing with a man-advantage.
Barton had taken its big early lead while the Bobcats were at full strength, getting two terrific goals from senior Erik Pajunk.
Just 10 minutes into the contest, the Brazilian made a solo run from midfield, dribbling through a triple-team halfway to the goal to get the crease he needed to fire the ball into the left corner of the net. Four and a half minutes later, the 2011 All-American laced a perfectly struck ball off a free kick some 30-35 yards out over the keeper Stover and just under the crossbar.
The goals were Pajunk's seventh and eighth of the season, and put him over the 40-goal plateau for his career.
Midway through the period, Lees-McRae forward Jordan Wright received two cards in a span of just 45 seconds and was ejected from the match, leaving the Bobcats to play short-handed the rest of the way.
Pajunk was denied a first-half hat trick by a Stover save in the 27th minute, and Strassburger hit the post with an attempt less than three minutes before halftime. However, the Bulldogs could not cash in on their advantage and went to the break still leading 2-0.
Despite its disadvantage, the Bobcats went on the offensive in the second half, taking 13 shots in the period to Barton's five.
In the 69th minute, freshman Nathan Watt converted one of those chances for the Bobcats, firing a shot from the right wing past Barton keeper Jens Madsen Hordvik and low into the left corner of the net for his second career goal.
Sensing an opportunity to stay in the match short-handed, the Bobcats continued to press, taking five excellent shots in a 10-minute span. Watt hit the crossbar with an attempt in the 77th minute, and James Smith missed just slightly higher in the 81st.
Just over a minute after Smith's miss, James Galvani succeeded with a header into the net off Matthew Cureton's cross from the left sideline to the left post. Seconds after play resumed, Lees-McRae nearly took the lead on another header, this one an attempt by Watt that bounced off the crossbar.
However, the Bobcats would soon lose their best player and go another man down. Galvani, ranked 25th nationally and second in the league with 11 goals, picked up a yellow card in the 83rd minute and was sent off following another card in the 87th minute.
Now playing 9-on-11, Lees-McRae managed to survive two late attempts by Barton and take the game into overtime, and the Bobcats cleared a couple of balls deep into BC territory to kill time in the extra period. However, the extreme disadvantage would be too difficult to overcome for very long, and Peru ended it less than three minutes into OT.
Eight cards were handed out – six to Lees-McRae and two to Barton – many for verbal offenses. A total of 36 fouls were called, 19 for the Bobcats and 17 for the Bulldogs.
The match was the final regular-season home match for Barton. However, the top four teams in the league will host quarterfinal matches in the upcoming Conference Carolinas Tournament, and the third-place Bulldogs improved their chances of doing so by separating themselves further from the Bobcats, who fell into fifth with the loss.
Barton will play at the University of Mount Olive on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
