FUS Men's Soccer Defeats La Roche, 2-1

STEUBENVILLE, OH.- Franciscan University of Steubenville men's soccer team defeated Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent La Roche College on Saturday 2-1 to boost the Barons' record to 7-7-1 (3-4) on the season.

Both the Barons and the Red Hawks stalled offensively in the first half, with both teams going scoreless into halftime. The second half opened strong for the Barons when Ryan Keogler, a graduate student, scored his fourth goal in seven games since coming back from injury to put Franciscan University on top, 1-0, three minutes into the half. Ten minutes later, Zeph Swope served up a pass to Steve Duran who put the ball in the net to score his fourth goal of the season and increase the lead to 2-0. La Roche would get on the board when Ruben Jolo scored in the 23rd minute.

FUS got a big boost from senior goalkeeper William Herrmann. Herrmann, who is a Wintersville, Ohio native and a graduate of Catholic Central High School, had four saves in what Coach Antonio Soave would call "his best game of the season." Coach was not finished with his praise, lauding Herrmann's performance as "phenomenal. He saved or deflected a lot of shots that were destined for the goal. I'm really pleased with his spectacular performance." Coach Soave was also pleased with the outcome of the game. "We were able to create chances today. Our midfield had really established play, especially in the second half. Ryan [Keogler] and Steve [Duran] really created chances for us. What we showed today as throughout all the season is that we are a second half team."

The Barons will look to build up off their success against La Roche as they prepare to face non-conference opponent Malone College at home on Tuesday at 4 pm on the Steubenville campus.