When you’re playing better competition, obviously they’re going to have more chances of coming through, but for the most part, my defense is so strong, and I credit all of my shutouts to them.

Dowling and the rest of the Barton defense, including fellow Demize teammate Ous Senghore have seven shutouts in ten games, and have conceded only three goals thus far. As of Tuesday, that ranked Dowling number six in the NJCAA in goals against average.

The win sets up a huge game Wednesday (tonight) with conference rival Garden City Community College. Garden is also undefeated touting a 7-0 record and a number 10 ranking in the latest NJCAA national poll. Barton came in at number 4 in the same poll. Garden has yet to defeat Barton in their four year history, which means Barton will definitely be getting their best shot, especially with Garden coming in as the underdog. The winner of the game will be the front runner to win the KJCCC conference championship and garner the number one seed for the tournament at the end of the regular season.

The way the regional system works is there are a total of 24 regions in NJCAA division 1 soccer. Each region will establish their winner, and send them on to districts to compete for one of the eight spots in the National Tournament. In Barton’s case, Kansas is their own region, consisting of the teams in the KJCCC (Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference). This means that Barton will have to go through the same teams they play in conference to win their region. The same is true for the Missouri teams as well, meaning Jefferson, St. Louis teams, Crowder, etc will all be playing each other for their respective regional title. Clearly for Barton, this means a re-match with Garden at the end of the year is likely to determine their regional champion.

NJCAA Correspondent Austin Dowling

Editor’s Note: Cody Thorn of the Neosho Daily News (and Carthage Press) provides the best soccer coverage of any newspaper in the region, and he files this report on the Crowder College Roughriders which includes a nice action shot of Bolivar’s Ryan Toombs:

Playing at home for the first time in a while — August 29 was the last day at home — the vagabond Crowder College Roughriders soccer team looked for its first home win.

That wait will have to go a while longer.

A goal by Michael Brennan in the 109th minute — in double overtime — lead Blue River Community College from Kansas City to a 1-0 win over Crowder in a Region XVI game played at Lions Field.

Crowder is now 2-5-3. Blue River improved to 4-6. The Roughriders play Friday in Union, Mo., against East Central Community College in another Region XVI game.

Tuesday, the second regular season rankings were revealed and Barton maintained their #4 national ranking, as the top five remained unchanged. St. Louis-Meramec moved up to #7 with their only loss on the season coming to the hands of Barton. Also, Ous Senghore (pictured) was named the region 6 men’s player of the week for the week of Sept. 8-15 for his strong defensive play. Ous coupled with fellow Demize defender James Neighbour and GK Donovan Dowling have yielded only two goals in nine contests. On tap this week for the Cougars is a tough non-conference opponent in Laramie County (WY) on Saturday night, one of the three participating teams in the Great Plains Districts last year (Along with Barton and Jefferson College).

Looking at the past national champions in the NJCAA, it is clear that Missouri, St. Louis in particular, have been the class of the country. When soccer was first introduced as a participating sport in the NJCAA, St. Louis-Flo Valley and St. Louis-Meramec were the class of the country winning a combined 12 national championships between 1967 and 1989, with Flo Valley taking ten, and Meramec adding two. That’s half of the possible titles in that time period. Also, in 1998 and 99 State Fair Community College out of Sedalia, Missouri won consecutive national championships. The titles were later revoked from State Fair because of eligibility issues with some of their players. Barton will be attempting to bring the first national championship to Kansas, away from the traditional Missouri power.

NJCAA Correspondent, Austin Dowling

Editors Note: my introduction to soccer came in 1974 at Florissant Valley CC, where I was a staff photographer at the CC paper as well as working for the Suburban Journals in St Louis. Flo-Valley defeated Meramec for the title that year while SLU and SIU-Edwardsville finished #2 and #3 in the final polls in Division 1. That’s the on-field tradition we can build as a community if we are committed. This site is an effort to create the environment soccer junkies like these four can thrive in. I must be doing something right since the local rag called me for background on the story but didn’t offer any attribution. Competition is great, isn’t it

Up this week for Barton are a set of conference games starting tonight at home against Dodge City CC, Saturday at home against Cowley County, and Tuesday in a road game at Hesston College.

In addition to being 6-0, Barton was rewarded Monday for their early season success by coming in at #4 in the NJCAA rankings. It is the highest any Region 6 (Kansas) team has been ranked in the regular season since Johnson County CC was #4 in the same poll in 2005, and is Barton’s highest ranking ever. Jefferson College (Hillsboro, MO) came in at #6 with St. Louis-Meramec moving up to #9 (both teams Barton defeated last weekend). Fellow Region 6 competitor, Garden City, came in at #10 in the rankings as well. The full list of rankings can be found at www.njcaa.org or www.nscaa.com.

If you look at the recent history between the Kansas schools (region 6) and the Missouri schools (Region 16), it is easy to see why Barton’s wins over #9 St. Louis-Meramec and #6 Jefferson (Hillsboro, MO) were such big wins. The regional champions from Missouri and Kansas meet in the Plains District finals every year to determine who will go to the National Tournament. Since 2000, region 16 (Missouri) has won that battle five times compared to just three by region 6 (Kansas). Between 2000 and 2003, East Central (Union, MO) was the class of Missouri making the National Tournament once, while Meramec also made the tournament once.

When then East Central CC head coach Stephen Peck decided to start the program at Jefferson College in 2005, he took the winning tradition with him. Jefferson CC has been the dominant team in the district ever since. They have made nationals every year since its existence (2005-now) as well as winning the National Championship in 2006. Barton’s win over Jefferson last weekend was the first time Jefferson had been beaten by a Region 6 opponent since Johnson County (Overland Park, KS) beat them 2-1 in the regular season in 2005.

The current schools in region 16 include Jefferson College, St. Louis CC-Meramec, St. Louis CC-Flo Valley, St. Louis CC-Forest Park, Crowder College (Neosho, MO), East Central College (Union, MO), Metropolitan CC-Maple Woods (Kansas City, MO), and Metropolitan CC-Blue River (Independence, MO).

NJCAA Correspondent, Austin Dowling

EDITORS NOTE: Crowder College, after opening the season 0-3-1 have now won their last two games. They defeated Neosho County (KS) 3-1 at Chanute and last night defeated Independence (KS) 2-1 at Independence. The game-winning goal in last nights game was scored by Justin Rogers (Glendale).

Neosho were the Region 6 runners-up last year so it appears the Roughriders may be finding their stride in the competitive soccer region they are competing in.

Why Barton County? The Cougars feature five players who played for the the Springfield Demize this past summer: GK Donovan Dowling, defender Ous Senghore, midfielders James Neighbour and Oscar Narvaez, and forward Kyle Dubay.

In addition to an inside look at the Cougars (Austin’s brother Donovan is the goalkeeper) I’m also looking forward to learning more about Junior College soccer. Take it away Austin!

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Barton County CC is the reigning Region 6 conference and Tournament champions, coming within one game of the 8 team national championship field. Coming off of a 19-4 record and a Top 15 finish, expectations are high for this team. The Cougars are comprised of a nice mix of players for Australia, England, Brazil, and the states combining many different styles of play. A talented freshman class, combined with 9 returning sophomore starters, coupled with two late Division 1 transfers (Kyle and Ous) makes Barton an instant national contender.

Barton opened up the year as #13 in the preseason rankings, and started their season with arguably the most difficult schedule in the country. Saturday August 23, the Cougars knocked off Western Nebraska 5-0 as five different Cougars scored, including Oscar Narvaez who notched a goal and an assist in the contest.

This past weekend, Barton started their season in the Missouri Junior College Invitational in St. Louis by beating #14 St. Louis CC – Meramec 2-0. Kyle Dubay scored the late insurance goal for Barton, helping to secure the victory. On Saturday, Barton defeated #5 Jefferson College (MO – 2006 National Champions) 2-1 in a very physical exciting match. The Cougars went up 2-0 before conceding a goal in the 70th minute, only to then hold on for the victory. Sunday, Barton defeated #6 Illinois Central out of Peoria, Illinois by a count of 3-0.

My motivation to start this blog comes from my two years at Johnson County Community College, also a part of the Jayhawk Conference, where we reached the National Junior College Championships in 200x and 200y. My brother Donovan is the goalkeeper for the Cougars, so I am rooting for this team to go far. But I also think this team is the real deal. They knock the ball very well and out possess their opponents forcing them to chase. In all four games they had a clear advantage in shots and kept the pressure on the opposing team’s defense. Barton’s defense led by Senghore at center back, Neighbour at holding midfielder, and Dowling in goal give up limited chances and has the ability to attack out of the back.

Over the course of this fall I will be offering background information on the NJCAA as a whole compared to the NCAA and NAIA, and who are the traditional powers in the past as well as who’s creating buzz this year. Up next for Barton is a pair of games in Garden City Kansas against Lincoln College out of Illinois and Blue River CC out of Independence Missouri. Also, look for the Cougars to rise quick in the national rankings, perhaps into the top five after such an impressive weekend.

Austin Dowling

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From the Neosho Daily News some local NJCAA news:

Playing Region XVI foe Jefferson County College, Crowder lost 4-0. The JC Vikings scored two goals in each half to pull out the victory over the Roughriders. Jefferson is now 4-2 overall and won its Region XVI opener. Crowder fell to 0-3-1 and is 0-1-1 in Region XVI play.