Box Score by Benny Benton
GAFFNEY, S.C. – Barton College senior Erik Pajunk scored his team-high sixth goal of the year on Saturday, but it was far too little against the onslaught of offense from nationally-ranked Limestone College in a 6-1 road loss.
The No. 6 Saints (8-1, 4-0), which lost their first match of the season on Wednesday against a Wingate University team that Barton beat in its season-opener, took their frustration out on the Bulldogs, scoring two goals in the game's first nine minutes and never letting up.
Limestone took 25 shots to just eight for the Bulldogs (5-4, 1-2) and enjoyed a 10-1 edge in corner kicks. Barton keeper Jens Madsen Hordvik kept the result from being even worse by recording six saves.
Pajunk's goal came in the 57th minute with Barton already trailing 5-0. The Brazilian accepted a volley at midfield from deep in the defensive half and drove down the left flank, eventually banking a shot off the far post and past Limestone keeper Tom Godfrey for his 39th career goal.
Limestone's leading scorer, Jorge McKenna, got the Saints started on the day with his seventh tally of the year. Defender Vebjoern Olstad started the sequence with a pass from the left wing to William Picoux on the left sideline, who worked by a Barton defender and crossed the ball to the cutting runner, McKenna, in front of the net.
Just three and a half minutes later, Olstad made a short pass off a corner kick to Tyler Agiovlassitis on the right wing, who lobbed the ball into the box toward the right post. Barton's keeper, Hordvik, moved down the line in the direction of the pass, but Limestone's Sam Orritt sent a header the other way into the far left corner of the net to give the Saints an early 2-0 advantage.
The Saints added a third goal before intermission on a breakaway by Harry Cooksley, and Orritt found the net again on a header off a corner kick by Olstad just 1:10 into the second period, extending the lead to 4-0. Orritt and Cooksley both assisted Sam Hibbert's first goal of the year in the 54th minute, and Thomas Keen scored his first goal of the season in the final two minutes on a rebound of Jorge Salvat's shot.
Besides Pajunk's goal, the Bulldogs had just two other shots on goal in the contest, both saved by Godfrey.
After a 5-1 start, Barton has dropped three straight matches, the last two coming in conference to teams with a combined overall record of 15-4. The Bulldogs hope to get back on track Wednesday night when they host Belmont Abbey College in a 7 p.m. Conference Carolinas match.
