Jayhawk Conference play opened with a bang for the Dodge City men's soccer team as they bounced back from a season-opening loss with a win over #5 Barton at home 3-2.
The Conquistadors with the win move to 1-1 on the season and snap a three-game losing streak in the series against Barton claiming the first win under the guidance of Head Coach,
Juan Espinal.
The Conqs would see Barton fire off a few opportunities early but then
Soma Kanazawa saw an opening and from midfield launched a shot that flew over the Cougars goalkeeper and went in from 60 yards to give the Conqs the lead in the 16th minute. The lead remained in the Conqs' favor until the 43rd minute of the contest as Barton was able to sneak a goal in just before the half to even the match at 1-1.
The second half would see plenty of more action to the goal for both sides with a combined 22 shots in the half. The Conqs would break through in the 54th minute as
Mikel Alvarez broke out for a counter and
Vicente Sandoval pushed a long ball ahead for Alvarez to make a run and ultimately get his first career goal and give the Conqs a 2-1 lead. The Conqs lead was in jeopardy a few minutes later when Barton was awarded a penalty kick but
Marcos Brondolo had the biggest save of the day to keep the Conqs in front. The 2-1 advantage held up until the 79th minute with Barton putting a cross into the box they connected to knot the game up at 2-2. The Conqs would not be rattled answering just over a minute later in the 80th minute as
Chris Moting would get on the board for the Conqs with
David Garcia getting the assist. The Conqs would go on to secure the 3-2 win.
In the contest, the Conqs were outshot by Barton 20-15 and 12-7 in shots on goal but made the best of their opportunities. Kanazawa, Alvarez, and Moting all finished with goals, while Sandoval and Garcia each notched an assist. Brondolo was strong in goal recording 10 saves on the day including a huge penalty kick save.
The Conqs are back in action quickly as they will take on KCK in Wichita on Friday, August 30th at 1:00 pm at Stryker Sports Complex.
