Box Score by Doug Page
BRISTOL, TENN. – A penalty kick goal in the 52nd minute of action pushed the King University Tornado past the Barton College men's soccer team, 2-1, on Friday at Bristol Tennessee High School.
Barton (8-6-1, 4-5-1) struggled to get the offense going against the Tornado as BC recorded just one shot in the contest. King (6-8-1, 5-5) came out of the gate with a full head of steam as the Tornado tallied 16 shots in the opening half, including five on goal.
Senior Daniel Gregory notched the lone shot on goal for the Bulldogs in the contest. Denning Hudson, Brendan Nance, and Sean O'Brien stepped on the field for the first time this season for BC, while senior goalkeeper Jacob Baird made his second start of the season.
The Tornado were paced by seven shots and one goal from Carlos Saavedra. Saavedra tallied a pair of shots on goal, including his penalty shot in the second half of action. Gabriel Rodrigues tallied a goal off his only shot, while Michael Young delivered a pair of shots on goal for King.
Despite facing a barrage of shots to start the contest, the Bulldogs would open the scoring without touching the ball. The Tornado defense attempted to clear a ball in the 32nd minute only to see it go into the back of the net to make it 1-0. Barton would hold onto the lead until Rodrigues took a shot from the top of the box that would beat Baird to knot the score in the 35th minute.
Baird recorded four saves for BC in the opening half as both teams went into the half knotted 1-1. King would outshoot Barton 16-0 in the half.
The second half would have a different feel as both sides combined to record just three shots. King would take the lead for good in the 52nd minute as Saavedra took a penalty shot opportunity for the Tornado. Saavedra beat Baird to give King a 2-1 lead.
Baird (1-1) made four saves off six shots in the contest, while the Bulldogs recorded one team save. King netminder Dalton Gammon (6-8-1) faced just to shots on goal in the contest and made one save on the lone shot recorded by the Bulldogs.
The quarterfinals of the 2018 Conference Carolinas Men's Soccer Championship begin on Oct. 30 with four matches being held at the site of the higher seed. The Bulldogs will wait to learn their seeding and who they will face in the opening round.
