Banner Elk, NC--The Lees-McRae Bobcats soccer team cruised to a
5-0 win over Barton College Saturday evening, improving their
record to 7-1-1, (3-1 Conference Carolinas). The Bulldogs fall to
2-6-1, (0-3-1).
On the attack from the opening whistle, the Bobcats wasted
little time in gaining momentum, testing Bulldogs keeper Matt Coble
early. In the fifth minute, Lee Squires (Sheffield, England) put
the Bobcats on the board by finishing a tic-tac-toe passing play
through the box with Matt Lacey (Norwich, England) and Berin
Boracic (Orlando, FL). Continually generating quality scoring
opportunities after achieving the early lead, Coble would keep his
team in the game, picking up a handful of saves before the game was
thirty minutes old. However the Bobcats attack would continue
to pressure as Squires showed his scoring prowess once again,
finishing a cross from Kyle McGimsey (Plant City, FL). McGimsey
would utilize his speed to take his defender wide down the
sideline, serving Squires a perfect ball to redirect after gaining
a step on his man. The Bulldogs would tighten up things
defensively, getting to halftime with the Bobcats holding onto the
two goal lead.
In the second, Squires would complete the natural hat trick in
the 62nd minute, his second three goal performance of the season as
well as the freshman's career. One-on-one with his defender,
Squires made his move to the left, drawing the goalkeeper and
finding the open net to the far right side. Five minutes later,
Bobby Layburn (Centennial, CO) scored his second of the year after
being set up in front of Coble by Gary Challinor (Worksop, England)
and Anthony Mantegani (Hendersonville, TN). Jarrett Fleharty
(Mocksville, NC) would close out the scoring for the Bobcats in the
83rd minute connecting on a corner kick by Logan Linton (Cocoa, FL)
with a running header.
"I was very pleased with the level of performance and the
professionalism our team showed in front of a fantastic crowd of
support tonight," commented Head Coach Chris Whalley. "We played
well across the board for much of the game, and were able to take
care of a potentially dangerous Barton team. "
"Squigie, (Lee Squires), finished extremely well. It's good to
see him back in his groove after having some hard luck finding the
back of the net for a couple games."
Squires' (pictured top left) three goals tie him with Boracic
for the conference lead with nine. After starting the year with
five goals in three games, Squires went four games without a goal
before snapping the drought against Limestone in a 1-0 win
Wednesday.
Boracic also registered two assists to give him the conference
lead in that category with five, while Fleharty's tally was the
first of his collegiate career.
Coble finished with nine saves while Bobcats starter Sean
Paradise (North Point, FL) registered one before giving way to Tom
Courtney (Newcastle, FL) in the 71st minute. Courtney held the
fort and kept the shutout intact, facing a pair of shots.
The Bobcats will be back in action when defending Conference and
Regional Champion Queens University visits Tate Field for a 7:30pm
kickoff Monday, September 24th.
