The Barton Community College men’s soccer team had eight players recently selected to the 2015 Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference All-Conference team with four being named to the All-Region VI team. The selections featured four landing on the first team leading the Cougars to a 14-2-1 record on the season while receiving votes in NJCAA Division I poll and ending the season No. 17 in the NSCAA poll.
Renan Sousa received one of two of the highest conference honors being named as the Offensive Player of the Year for his forty-three point performance on the season, seventh best in Cougar history. The Brazilian sophomore repeated his first team all-region selection improving to the first team all-conference from last year’s second team. In addition to the single season points scored placing in the record books, Sousa’s fourteen assists finished one shy of tying the school record. In his career Sousa finished eighth in points scored (60), fourth in assists (18), and tied for tenth in goals scored (21).
Despite missing over half of the conference season due to injury, Jiro Barriga Toyama repeated both his conference and region first team honors. Scoring four goals and distributing six assists, the sophomore forward from Japan drew constant attention at the top of the offensive attack in his nine games played.
Joining Toyama in the front line of attack was freshman Lucas Alves being selected as both a first team all-conference and all-region performer. One of five Cougars from Sao Paulo, Brazil, Alves finished second to Sousa in goals scored with thirteen and points with twenty-nine.
Anchoring the defensive line was the play of sophomore Jamie Cox. Earning both conference and region first team honors, Cox led a young defensive line to the second best rated defense surrendering less than a goal per contest and helping honorable mention goalkeeper Bruce Turner earn two conference and one national goalkeeper of the week award.
With no second team selections, four freshman dotted the honorable mention all-conference selections as midfielders Sergio Ribeiro and Grayson Carroll were joined by defenseman Kota Endo and Turner.
