HAMBURG, N.Y.—The Barons for the most part controlled the play and put pressure on their opponents but struggled to deal with the rain and muddy conditions in a 4-2 loss to Hilbert College.

With a few changes to their midfield, including moving junior Jace Vansteenburg from center back to his more natural position as a defensive midfielder, the Barons were effective in the midfield.  They got the ball forward numerous times and had several opportunities to score.  

"We used Jace in two midfield positions today, in a central position and in a wider position, and that really helped us in our possession game," head coach Ward Rogers said.

He added that their missed chances were very unfortunate. A shot off the crossbar, a bad bounce, and a great save from Hilbert's goalkeeper caused Franciscan to finish with two goals instead of five. 

"Both teams are playing on the same field," Rogers said.  "Everyone makes their own breaks."

Hilbert was able to benefit from the poor field conditions in several instances, when a ball stopped suddenly upon hitting the puddles forming all over the field. 

The first goal resulted from such a situation. Although Franciscan defenders were able to get their feet to the ball, the water stopped any attempted clearance.  Hilbert senior midfielder Matt Hamister managed to keep the ball on his feet and shoot into the back of the net just over 10 minutes into the match on one of the few chances that Hilbert had.

Hilbert finished with six shots on goal to the Barons' 14 but despite the ratio, FUS was unable to complete scoring opportunities.

After falling behind early, Franciscan came back in the twenty-fourth minute.  The ball was switched to the other side of the field, which gave the Barons a chance to push forward on the Hilbert defense.  Freshman forward Leo Herrmann headed in the resulting cross from Jesse Saltarelli for his twelfth goal of the season to tie up the game.

Just before halftime, the field conditions affected the game once more.  A long ball from Hilbert forced Franciscan keeper Eddie Huber to come off his line.  The ball hit a puddle and stopped dead forcing him to rush his clearance.  The ball fell to a Hilbert player who quickly shot the ball as Huber tried to get back into position.  Huber slipped in the mud and the ball went into the corner of the net making it 3-1. 

The Barons would concede one more goal in the second half. 

After the half, Franciscan tried to build up and control the pace of the game. They were able to get one goal back thanks to the foot of freshman midfielder Dominic Vander Woude, his second goal of the season and second in three games. 

Although the men fought to get back in the game, they were unable to overcome the deficit before the clock expired.

"We really controlled the pace of the game, but we just didn't finish our chances. The other team finished," Rogers said.

The Barons will fight to keep their playoff hopes alive playing against the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg Wednesday, October 22.