Dodge City men's soccer remains unbeaten on the season through the first seven games as they for the second straight year, beat a Top 10-ranked Barton Cougars at home to earn a big Jayhawk conference victory.
The win moves the Conquistadors to 5-0-2 on the season and 2-0-1 in KJCCC action, while also remaining unbeaten at home at 4-0. The five wins match last year's total with 10 more regular season games still to come. The 5-0-2 start marks the longest unbeaten streak to open a season in program history.
The action didn't take long to heat up in the Top 20 battle as both teams looked primed and ready for the big matchup, and Barton would be the first to strike. The Cougars just less than two minutes into the contest swiped the ball just outside their attacking third and fired off a shot, getting a goal to take the 1-0 lead. The Conqs, accustomed to some fast starts of their own, were not rattled as they answered back in the sixth minute as
Francesco Valenti made a strong run and found
Ishmael Jones, who netted his second goal of the season, pulling the Conqs even at 1-1. Both teams would get a few more looks at the goal in the first half, but the contest was tied at 1-1 entering halftime.
Coming out of halftime, the Conqs would make a run in the 58th minute with Valenti once again taking the edge and centering up the ball on a cross for
Davide Dalla Francesca, who would push it in for his third goal the give the Conqs a 2-1 lead. Barton would make a few pushes the rest of the way with five shots on goal and 10 shots in the second half, but
Geovanni De Luna would come up with some crucial saves, and the Conqs' defense stymied Barton enough to keep them off the scoreboard and earn the 2-1 win.
Jones and Dalla Francesca each netted a goal, while Valenti had a pair of assists in the win. De Luna was strong in goal, surrendering just one goal but recording eight saves, including five big saves in the second half.
The Conqs are back on the road for the upcoming week as they have a pair of road trips ahead of them, set to take on Seward County on Wednesday, September 24th at 8:00 pm, and then Cowley on Saturday, September 27th at 4:30 pm.
