Box Score by Benny Benton
GAFFNEY, S.C. – Senior reserve Samantha Berberette's header with just 3:27 left in regulation gave Limestone College the only goal it needed in handing Barton College a heartbreaking 1-0 road loss Saturday night.
The goal, which came after Berberette charged past a Barton defender to put back a shot that had glanced off the bottom of the crossbar, provided a disappointing ending to what was a superb night individually for Barton keeper Kelsey Rothwell.
Making just her third career start, the junior from Durham, N.C., kept the Lady Bulldogs (5-2-1, 2-2) in the match with a Barton season-high 10 saves that equaled her entire career total, many of them coming in spectacular fashion.
Fifteen minutes into the second half, Rothwell stopped two one-on-one chances for the Saints (5-1-2, 3-0-1), including one by reigning Conference Carolinas Player of the Week and three-time all-conference selection Gabriella Reid. She turned away two other chances in the same four-minute span, including a breakaway by Mary Beth Hervig which Rothwell charged to stop. Two minutes later, a header by Ashton Bowles off a corner kick seemed destined to go in, but Rothwell somehow lunged to save the ball while nearly ending upside-down.
The goal ended a streak of 179 consecutive shutout minutes for Rothwell and 461 straight shutout minutes for the team, which came into the contest with a four-match shutout streak, Barton's longest since 2007.
Barton controlled play for much of the first half and limited Limestone to just three shots. However, the Lady Bulldogs could not turn possession into opportunities, managing just one shot of their own, that coming on a free kick in the 11th minute by Kasey Byzewkski that sailed high.
The Saints came out in the second half as the aggressor, drawing 11 fouls to just two for Barton, but also producing a 15-4 edge in shot attempts. Lane Brooks, who had scored in each of Barton's last four matches, took all four second-half attempts for the Lady Bulldogs, but only one was on goal, and it was saved by freshman keeper Alexis Dunbar in the 54th minute.
With the victory, Limestone extended an unbeaten streak to six straight matches, and remained in second place in the league standings behind Converse, the other team to which Barton has lost this year.
Barton hopes to start a new shutout streak on Wednesday when it hosts Belmont Abbey College in a 5 p.m. match at the Barton Outdoor Athletics Complex.
