Trevor Knight broke a scoreless tie less than three minutes into the second half and Edrisa Chune scored what proved to be the winning goal in the 75th minute as University of Mount Olive defeated nationally 21st-ranked Barton College 2-1 in Conference Carolinas men's soccer Tuesday at Amon Field. The win was the Trojans' second this year over a nationally ranked team.
Mount Olive (5-9-3 overall, 3-5-1 Conference Carolinas) outshot Barton 9-4 in the first half, but was unable to get on the scoreboard until Knight turned an errant shot into a goal. Kevin Williams Lopez fought through a double team in the right side of the box and shot to the left post. The shot was wide, but the Barton goalkeeper had come off his line and Knight was in front of the post to put the Trojans on top 1-0 at the 47:02 mark.
Barton (11-5-0, 6-3-0) appeared to score the tying goal barely two minutes later on a chip in front of the goal, but the Bulldogs were flagged for offside.
The Trojans added an insurance goal late in the half when Dauda Sanoh intercepted a service inside of midfield. Sanoh played the ball forward to Chune, who shot from 25 yards out. His shot went over the keeper, hit the bottom of the crossbar and into the goal to give Mount Olive a 2-0 lead at 74:22.
Barton capitalized on a handball in the box to cut the lead in half with less than 10 minutes remaining. Dante De Luca converted a penalty kick at 81:07 to make it a one-goal game. The Bulldogs had a free kick opportunity from 25 yards out with less than two minutes remaining, but the shot was high as the Trojans held on for the win.
The Trojans posted a 3-1 victory over then-No. 22 Queens September 7. Saturday, Mount Olive took No. 9 Limestone to double overtime before falling 1-0.
Prior to Tuesday's match, seniors Aaron Norris, Cody Suite and Tanner Tolston were recognized during Senior Day ceremonies.
Mount Olive concludes regular season play Saturday as the Trojans travel to Central, S.C., to take on first-year conference member Southern Wesleyan in Conference Carolinas action. Match time is 5 p.m.