The Barton men’s soccer team made a living off its defense last season. The Cougars allowed more than two goals on just two occasions on the way to a 14-5-2 record.

One of those five losses came at State Fair College early in the season in a 1-0 setback in Missouri.

Saturday in the season opener for Barton, the Cougars got a little revenge on the Roadrunners, once again riding a stellar defense.

Barton shutout State Fair to open the 2018 season with a 3-0 win.

One game in and one shutout for the Cougars. Last season Barton recorded seven shutouts and limited its foes to one goal in seven more outings.

The first half was a battle of defenses as neither team was able to threaten very often.

Barton was able to breakthrough and end a scoreless tie in the 24th minute when sophomore Gabriel De Almeida finally found the goal. Almeida scored on an assist from fellow sophomore Colin Roemer.

Roemer found Almeida on the wing, where he made it way past a couple of defenders and went low for the goal with 21:58 to play in the half.

Barton took that lead to intermission.

The Cougars came out in control in the second half, getting off numerous shots on goal early, but were not able to add to its lead.

Barton finally made it 2-0 on its fifth shot on goal. Freshman Robin Rouaud scored the first goal of his Barton career 12 minutes into the half, snagging a loose ball and finding the net.

What doubt was left in the outcome was erased with 6:34 to play. Ruben Torres, a freshman from Tulsa, also scored on a loose ball in the box to give the Cougars a 3-0 lead.

Barton will hit the road next week for the first time this year. The Cougars will travel to Texas to take on Western Texas College in a 4 pm match on Wednesday.

Western Texas won its season opener over Otero Friday and will take on No. 16 ranked Trinidad State Sunday in a classic the Westerns are hosting.