by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – The Barton College men's soccer team hopes to assure itself of a home match for the upcoming Conference Carolinas Tournament with a victory in its 4 p.m. match Tuesday at rival University of Mount Olive.
Mount Olive sports information will provide live stats and video for Tuesday's match.
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 regionally-ranked No. 6 Bulldogs (11-4, 6-2) claimed their sixth straight victory on Saturday night with a 3-2 overtime Homecoming victory over Lees-McRae College. Win No. 7 in a row on Tuesday would clinch a top-four seed and the opportunity to host a tournament quarterfinal match on Monday, Nov. 3.
Senior Erik Pajunk had a hand in four of Barton's five goals last in last week's two victories, both over regionally-ranked programs. The forward from Rio de Janeiro assisted both goals in the 2-1 win over Chowan, ranked No. 8 in the Atlantic Region, and scored both regulation goals in the 3-2 overtime victory over Lees-McRae, ranked No. 9 in the Southeast.
Pajunk now leads the squad with eight goals and six assists for 22 points. Senior Dante De Luca follows closely behind with seven goals and five assists for 18 points, and three others – sophomore Alex David (5G, 3A), junior Kevin Strassburger (3G, 5A) and senior Jonathan Rembecki (4G, 2A) – each have at least 10 points.
Freshman keeper Jens Madsen Hordvik has a 9-2 record in goal with four shutouts for the Bulldogs. Hordvik has a 1.42 goals against average and .709 save percentage while collecting 39 total saves.
The Bulldogs rank in the top half of programs nationally in goals allowed (1.39 per game) while ranking 29th in the country in goals scored (2.27).
Barton claimed last year's meeting 4-2 in Wilson, padding a slim 1-0 halftime lead with three more goals in the first 30 minutes of the second period. De Luca and Strassburger both had goals in the contest and Pajunk produced a pair of assists. Mount Olive scored two goals in the final seven minutes to cut the deficit in half.
The Bulldogs have won five in a row over the Trojans.
University of Mount Olive Men's Soccer
The Trojans are just 4-9-3 overall and 2-5-1 in league play, but have gone 2-1-1 in their last four conference matches. Their only loss over that stretch was a 1-0 double-overtime setback at home to nationally-ranked No. 12 Limestone. Mount Olive actually had a great opportunity to win that match in overtime, but the Saints keeper made a great play on a penalty kick to keep Limestone alive.
Mount Olive has struggled to put the ball in the net this season, ranking 144th nationally among 194 teams in scoring offense (1.25 goals per match). However, the Trojans have stayed in games with the help of junior keeper Nick Bernsdorf, who leads the conference in save percentage at better than 77 percent. Bernsdorf is giving up 1.39 goals per contest, fourth in the league.
Sophomore Cooper Gaypia and junior Kevin Williams Lopez pace the squad with three goals each. Junior Louis Gorman has a team-high three assists.
Bright Eto has just one goal this season, but is a 2013 all-conference selection who scored both of UMO's late goals last year.
Mount Olive will hold Senior Day recognitions prior to Tuesday's match.
