Tiger soccer team falls in Region VI/Plains District Championship title game

Battling hard to tie No. 17-ranked Barton Community College in Sunday's Region VI/Plains District Championship title game played at Wichita's Stryker Sports Complex, the No. 13-ranked Cowley College men's soccer team saw its hard work evaporate as Barton scored three goals in less than two minutes to pull away for the 4-1 win in the region title game.

The KJCCC's West's second seeded Cougars will take a 12-2-1 record to the NJCAA Division I Championship Tournament, making the return trip to Wichita's Stryker Sports Complex June 5-10.  For Cowley, the waiting game begins for the West Champions as the Tiger's 11-3 record is hopeful of an at-large tournament berth.

Trailing 1-0, Antonio Peruchi Marra, the hero in Saturday's 4-3 double overtime semifinal victory over Dodge City, scored on a penalty kick to tie the game at 1-1 with 17:38 left to play.

"We had all the momentum and had dominated the game up to that point," Cowley head coach Ruy Vaz said.

However, a mishap by the Tigers in the midfield allowed Barton's Felipe D'Agostini to corral the loose ball and score the go-ahead goal with 5:29 remaining.

"That goal was like a punch in the face," Vaz said.

Barton would net its third goal only a minute and a half later when Vladyslav Peretyatko launched a perfectly executed shot from 30 yards out. Trying to frantically rally, the Tigers would turn the ball over again and Barton put the game away on a goal by Elijah Williams only 19 seconds after Peretyatko's goal.

"Those third and fourth goals happened because we were desperate to try and come back," Vaz said. "Congratulations to Barton for winning. It hurt to lose because we had the momentum and the ending was unexpected. Our guys left everything they had on that field."

After a conference title, a record of 11-3, and advancing to the Region VI championship game, Cowley will now hope they have done enough to be among the teams selected to fill out the national tournament bracket.

"We are the best team in Region VI and it shows through what we have done the entire season," Vaz said.