Franciscan Still Struggling Offensively, Falls to Hiram

September 15, 2012

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio— In their first home game of the season, the Franciscan University Barons soccer team faced another tough loss as they fell to Hiram College 6-0.

"We hold our own physically," head coach Ward Rogers said, "but we tend to get hung up on the physical side of things, which takes away from our basic technical skills." He added that while the team's technical play as a whole has improved, this game challenged their speed and ability to apply offensive pressure.

"When the other team's defense marks you as tight as Hiram did, it's hard to adequately control the ball," Rogers said.

Despite the disappointing final results, several Franciscan players had note-worthy games defensively, according to Rogers. Among these were defenders Evan Olsen, Peter Herrmann, and John Herrmann, who formed the backbone of Baron defense.

"Evan Olsen played a tremendous game," Rogers said. "Goalkeeper Christopher McNamara also had a very nice play on a difficult penalty shot save."

As a whole, the team demonstrated exceptional sportsmanship and dedication, which was very pleasing to Rogers.

"That's just our team," Rogers said. "We play for Jesus and we try to embody that on the field. That also means that the guys don't quit. They play every minute and they're willing to put in the sacrifice both on and off the field to win."

The team falls to 0-5 on the season and faces Geneva College on Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 4 p.m. Their first Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference game is next Saturday, Sept. 22 at 3 p.m. vs. Penn St.-Behrend.