Box Score by Benny Benton
ARLINGTON, Va. – Alex David and Erik Pajunk each recorded a goal and an assist to lead 19th-ranked Barton College to a 3-1 men's soccer victory over No. 21 University of the District of Columbia Saturday afternoon at Long Bridge Park.
David, a sophomore from Raleigh, N.C., got the Bulldogs (3-1) on the board in the game's 29th minute, putting away a rebound following a shot by Pajunk. David has now scored one goal in each of Barton's first four contests. The assist was Pajunk's third of the season.
Roughly four minutes later, David took a pass from Jonathan Rembecki and served a cross into the box for junior Kevin Strassburger, who fired the ball past UDC keeper Louis Connor to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 advantage that they took into intermission. The goal was the second of the year for Strassburger. David and Rembecki each collected their first assist of 2014 on the play.
District of Columbia (2-1-1) responded seven minutes into the second period as Felix Angerer broke free on a fast break after receiving a pass from Liam Haycock and scored for his team-leading third goal of the season.
However, Barton immediately responded, pushing its margin back up to two when Pajunk took a pass from junior Marcus Strath in the box and converted it for a 3-1 Barton advantage. The goal was the first of the year for the senior from Rio de Janeiro and the 34th of his career. The assist for Strath, a junior college transfer, was his first in a Bulldog uniform.
The two sides ended the contest with an equal number of shots, but arrived there in matching but unequal halves. Barton enjoyed a 13-5 margin in shots in the opening period, and the Firebirds claimed the 13-5 advantage in the second half.
Barton's freshman keeper, Jens Madsen Hordvik, held up well in his first collegiate match against a nationally-ranked opponent. The Norwegian recorded seven saves, the most this season, including two outstanding ones in the eighth minute. UDC's Nenad Smiljanic fired a shot from 20 yards out off the chest of Hordvik, and Moussa Traore tried to toe in the rebound, but Hordvik made a second consecutive diving stop.
Connor, UDC's junior keeper, made seven saves in the loss.
In its next match, Barton will host Lenoir-Rhyne University on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
