STEUBENVILLE, OHIO—The Franciscan University of Steubenville men's lacrosse team took on Baldwin Wallace University for the second time this season, losing 12-2 at home. Having played Baldwin Wallace earlier in April, the Barons showed improvement from their previous 13-2 loss.

"The score does not necessarily look that much better than the first time we played," head coach Peter Rosaschi said of the Barons second match up with the Yellow Jackets. "But there were vast improvements with ball control all across the board today."

Coach Rosaschi said he believes that the improvements came from a more relaxed, yet aggressive attitude.

"Today I wanted to see them relax and have fun," Rosaschi said. "They hit today, were more diligent with ground balls, and more patient on offense. They moved the ball around much better than in almost any other game."

Despite these improvements, the Barons came out slow in the first half, suffering from the loss of defensive midfielders Peter Rosaschi IV and Joseph VanDevere, two of Franciscan's toughest defenders.

"Peter and Joe are two of our monsters in the middle who can get their ground balls," Rosaschi said of playing without the two injured players. "It was definitely hard to finish our shots today, but we moved guys around, and we're still learning where and how to play them."

Although the Barons as a whole had trouble finishing, freshman attack Daniel Fay scored both of the Barons goals; one in the first half and another with 16 seconds left in the game. In the fourth quarter, the Barons found Fay open in front of the crease and the undersized attackman ripped a quick-stick shot that found the back of the net.

"Fay snuck into the middle," Rosaschi said of Daniel's skillfully executed second goal. "We call him the rubberband man because no matter how hard he gets hit he bounces right back up."

Along with Fay's determination, the Barons looked extremely strong and aggressive in the fourth quarter, picking up the tempo mentally and physically to keep the fourth quarter 3-1.

"Our fourth quarter was an indication of a team that does not quit, no matter what the circumstances are." Rosaschi said.

Despite the Barons surge of enthusiasm in the fourth quarter, Franciscan finished their second to last game 12-2 at home. The Barons will work this week to prepare for their final game against the 3-8 Bethany College Bison at home.

"We will be intensely working on our offense this week," Rosaschi said. "Along with slides, spacing, and tempo. This will be our hardest week of practice because we want to finish strong."

The Barons will celebrate their seniors, Austin Jones, Evan Malchano, and Benedict Martin next Saturday April 20 at 3 pm against Bethany College in their last game of their inaugural season.