FLORENCE, S.C. – The Barton men's soccer team (9-1) advanced to the finals of the 2021 Conference Carolinas Championship after holding off Chowan (7-2-1), 1-0, in the semifinals Friday evening at the Florence Soccer Complex.
Barton is the second seed in the tournament while Chowan was seeded third. The Bulldogs won their sixth straight game and handed the Hawks their only two losses on the season.
Barton will now take on sixth-seeded Belmont Abbey (6-8-1) in the championship match on Sunday beginning at 4:00 p.m. The Crusaders took down top-seeded Erskine (7-1) by a 1-0 score in their semifinal match.
Barton sophomore midfielder and all-league honoree
Omar Aboutaleb (Asheboro, N.C.) scored the lone goal of the match – his team-leading eighth goal of the year – just 8:24 into the contest. Junior midfielder
Eve Luna-Arias (Browns Summit, N.C.) was credited with the assist for the Bulldogs.
Chowan lost despite holding a 23-3 advantage in shots taken. Barton sophomore goalkeeper
Jacob Randolph (Metairie, La.) stopped five shots for his fifth shutout of the season while extending his scoreless streak to 520:18 minutes. Chowan's goalkeeper, Ross Miller (Kilmarnock, SCOTLAND), suffered the loss despite allowing just one goal.
