HIRAM, Ohio – The Franciscan University Barons looked to stretch their early season winning streak to three games against Hiram College, but after a 1-1 lock at halftime the Barons allowed three second half goals to fall to the Terriers, 3-1.

Hiram got on the board first with a goal in the 33rd minute of play, but as they have all season, the Barons responded quickly. Joseph Duran found Joseph Francis for a goal just two minutes later to knot the score at one heading into the halftime break.

"When we played Hiram last year they really shut us down and locked us into their half of the field," Franciscan coach Ward Rogers said, "but that didn't happen this year. We had some really good second chances and we developed the play really well. In terms of how well we've played against this team in the past, we really progressed."

Franciscan had a shot to take the lead in the 60th minute when Brian Bobak fired a shot that went just wide of the net. Minutes later, Hiram put one in the back of the net to take a 2-1 lead, a lead which they would build upon until the final horn.

"In the second half their pace got to us a little bit," Rogers said. "Coming out of halftime we were playing really well, but it was really their pace and quickness that got to us. They had some players that they brought in the second half that were faster than the players who were playing in the first half."

One thing Rogers was especially pleased about was his team's ability to create opportunities, something that has come as a struggle for the Barons in years past. The total shots in the game tallied 18 to Hiram, and 11 to Franciscan.

"If you take a look at the stats from some of our games last year those stats are much further apart," Rogers said.

Rogers also noted the play of Franciscan goalkeeper Eddie Huber who made seven saves in his full-game effort.

The Barons, now 2-3, host Westminster on Thursday, Sept. 19 at 5 p.m. Rogers said that the Barons will continue to make adjustments this week in practice to play a more competitive match with Westminster, who beat FUS 4-1 last season.

"If you take a look at the Westminster game last year, we got outshot and had trouble bringing the ball through the midfield. We're going to work on that real hard on that this week and getting some opportunities against their defensive strategy."