STEUBENVILLE, Ohio—Family, friends and fans of the Franciscan soccer teams circled together in the middle of the windy soccer fields before the women's game. They all came together to pray for and honor former soccer player, Amanda Looman, who died early in the week from injuries sustained in a car crash.

"We dedicate the rest of the Lady Baron's season to playing for Amanda and hope that her joy stays with us all," head coach Clare McBane said.

With Amanda in mind and despite an early lead the Lady Baron soccer team lost 3-1 to conference opponent Pitt-Bradford knocking Franciscan's overall record to 10-7 and its conference record to 4-4.

"We competed well, I thought it was really even," McBane said. "It was definitely a tough game but the girls showed up to play and we had some really serious opportunities on goal but we just didn't finish them."

The only opportunity the team did finish was in the first two minutes of the game. Sophomore forward Jordan Byrley dribbled straight into the goal and kicked the ball into the back left corner of the net right past the goalkeeper.

"Being the first to score you really have to stay strong especially because our defense was up against two of the best forwards in our conference," McBane said. "We let 3 goals in but our defense still played a good game and stayed composed."

Junior goalkeeper Mallory Garthwaite continued to lead her team and despite having three balls get passed her she had saves throughout the game that proved her skill set. She was bombarded with high shots forcing her to make a number of full-extension saves to punch the ball over the top of the net.

"The game is not won or lost because of one person. That's a big thing I keep telling the girls," McBane said. "It takes a team to lose a game and it takes a team to win a game and they worked hard but unfortunately today it wasn't enough."

The team has one more regular season game before possible post-season play. On Tuesday Oct. 29 they take on conference opponent Mount Aloysius College at 4pm in hopes of securing a place in the AMCC playoffs with a win.

"We're thankful this is not the last game of our season and we get an opportunity to fix those little mistakes we made today," McBane said.