STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – Baron soccer held strong for 84 minutes against fourth ranked conference opponent Penn State-Altoona, only to fall 1-0 in the last five minutes of the game. Goalkeeper Edward Huber kept the Baron's in the game with an impressive tally of clutch saves but his play and well played game by FUS fell just short of what would have been a big conference win.

"They play a similar style to us, but they're a little bit more direct than we are," head coach Ward Rogers said. "I think we had them pretty well defended. They had a couple of good looks at goal but I think we played them very evenly, as the score would indicate."

The Barons dominated the pace of play in the first half with eight shots on goal and many close chances. A particularly strong look came when freshman midfielder Joe Duran dribbled the ball down the wing, weaving in and out of the Lions defense, and took a shot from the right wing. The ball rebounded off the goalkeeper's chest, but Franciscan was unable follow-up on the rebound.

The Baron defense managed to shut down the Lion's offense in the first half, pushing them outside the box. Despite a few shots on goal, Altoona was largely unable to penetrate the defense and didn't put up a real threat.

"I thought the defense played excellent, they weren't able to break us down," Rogers said. "We'd rather give up some shots on the outside than let them penetrate the box. A couple of their good chances came off set pieces and they had a couple of good looks from far out."

Despite controlling most of the possession in the second half, the Baron attack matched well by the Lion defense and limited Franciscan's chances on goal. Altoona then began to penetrate the defense and created better looks at the net.

Huber was equal to the task of Altoona's offensive threat saving a series of potential goals including a diving one-handed save in the eighty-third minute.

"I thought Eddie played very well, and made same very nice saves when they had good looks," Roger said of Huber's play. "He kept us in the game."

With five minutes left in the game, Franciscan was booked with a foul just outside the box. Altoona took the free kick and shot the ball toward the far left post where it rebounded off Huber's chest. Franciscan was then unable to clear the ball and Altoona hammered it into the right side of the net, winning the game 1-0.

The loss breaks a three-way tie for the sixth spot in the conference and pushes the Barons one game out of playoff qualification with two games left. Wins in the next two matches would most likely vault Franciscan into the AMCC playoffs for the first time in program history.

"Everyone's playing for those last playoff spots, these are going to be 2-1, 1-0 games," Rogers said of the last two regular season games. "Hopefully we'll find the touch, score a few goals, and take the pressure off the defense."

The Barons face Pitt – Bradford this Saturday at home on Oct. 26, at 1pm.