BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University men's soccer team still had a chance to earn a home contest in next week's Conference Carolinas Tournament when they squared off with #21 Barton College on Friday afternoon. The Tornado scored the first goal of the game, and had numerous chances to add another tally, but the Bulldog defense fended off the attempts before their offense netted a pair of goals in the second half to escape with the 2-1 victory.

King (7-9, 5-5 CC) seemed to control play from the onset as Eli Carrasco had a shot saved by Bulldog goalkeeper Jens Madsen Hordvik in the 11th minute. Ryan Murphyhad a chance again in the 15th minute, but that shot too was turned away by Madsen Hordvik before the Bulldogs (12-5, 7-3 CC) earned their first scoring opportunity of the contest.

In the 21st minute, King goalkeeper Cameron Sauro came up with back-to-back saves, and Barton sent their third shot in 10 seconds wide to keep the game scoreless. King then brought play back to the other end of the field with a stellar opportunity to score. Carrasco ripped a shot from the left side in the 24th minute that was stopped by the Bulldog defense, but the ball ricocheted right to Chris Hicks who put his back heel on the ball to stuff it into the open net for his 10th tally of the season.

The Tornado continued to pressure the Bulldogs for the remainder of the half, putting two shots on net, but both were saved by Madsen Hordvik as King went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.

It was more of the same in the second half as the Tornado ripped three shots, one on net in the early going before Barton earned their best chance of the contest. Erik Pajunk had a shot blocked that resulted in a corner kick. The corner was placed in the box where Dante De Luca got a head on the ball to put it into the back of the net for the equalizer in the 71st minute.

Murphy had a chance to put the Tornado ahead just five minutes later as he laced a shot from the middle of the box that was cleared by the Bulldog defense at the goal line to keep the game knotted a 1-1. In the 77th minute Alex David gave Barton the lead for the first time as he dribbled the ball in the box with his back to the goal before turning a ripped a shot into the back of the net from 10 yards out to put Barton up 2-1.

King didn't let up as the Tornado had a free kick just outside the left side of the box in the 82 minute. It looked as though Barton would clear the ball, but Faber Bickerstaffe made a sliding tackle from behind, got to his feet and drilled a shot that was going towards the top of the goal. However, a Barton defender got a head on the ball as it deflected off the crossbar to keep the Bulldogs ahead. The Tornado ripped three shots over the final three minutes, but none were on target as Barton escaped with the 2-1 victory.

King outshot the Bulldogs 26-11, putting nine on target while Barton placed five shots on goal. King also posted more corner kicks than Barton by an 8-2 margin.

King has qualified for next week's Conference Carolinas Tournament and will be either the fifth or sixth seed. If Erskine College wins at #9 Limestone College tomorrow, the Tornado will be the sixth seed and play at Barton on Monday. If Limestone wins that matchup, King will travel to take on Lees-McRae on Monday.

---

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

Men's NCAA Tournament First Round Recap

Women's NCAA Tournament Second Round Recap

Vanderbilt Shocks No. 1 Florida State