STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – Twenty minutes after the game was over, the Lady Baron soccer team still hadn't left the field, clinging to the last moments of their season after a 6-1 loss to Penn St.-Behrend in the conference semi-finals.

The game was closer than the score suggests, with the two teams nearly even in shots and both teams creating quality scoring opportunities. The difference was in the finishing, where even on Franciscan's goal the ball didn't seem to bounce their way.

"Soccer is one of those games where you can outplay a team and still lose and that's not to say that Behrend isn't a very talented team," head coach Clare McBane said. "Sometimes one team is just better at finishing than the other and that seemed to be the story today."

That theme started from the very beginning with Franciscan controlling the possession early and getting the games first shot on goal with a header from senior forward Jordan Byrley. Soon after, the Lions drew a penalty inside Franciscan box and buried the penalty kick into the left side netting for the game's first goal.

The rest of the second half saw a 23 yard shot from senior Julia Cocozza sail over the Behrend keeper but off the crossbar and a corner kick from senior Ashley Ruttencutter curve past the keeper, on course for a goal, only to be headed out by a defender at the last moment. In the meantime the Lions tacked on two more goals making it 3-0 at halftime.

"We definitely had some bad breaks. We had a lot of opportunities on their net and just weren't able to finish," McBane said. "There are going to be games where things fall your way and there are going to be games where they don't. They played 100 percent and that's all you can ask for."

The second half started off promisingly but not without adversity. In the fiftieth minute senior forward Ashley Ruttencutter floated a ball from outside the box, over the keeper, and into the far corner of the net. As the FUS bench started to celebrate the referee called a foul in the box before the shot, giving Franciscan a penalty shot but taking the senior's goal off the board.

Ruttencutter finished the ensuing PK to bring Franciscan within two.

The next twenty minutes was almost all Franciscan but once again they couldn't find the back of the net. A fourth Behrend goal in the seventieth minute killed Franciscan momentum and put the game realistically out of reach.

"Even though it was such a painful loss it was this game still truly spoke to what these girls are about," McBane said of her team. "Even to the last whistle they were pounding the goal trying to score. The average team would've given up."

The loss marks the last game for a transformative senior class in the Lady Baron program. As freshmen and sophomores, the 2015 graduates finished with conference records of 4-5 and 2-5-2. As juniors and seniors, they made the conference semi-finals, finishing with a conference record of 8-1 this season.

The class of eight was also instrumental in forming the team's tightknit culture that culminated in tears and a reluctance to leave the field at the end of the game.

"This is a unique team. I don't think words can fully express the beauty of the women on this team," McBane said. "They love each other and they love each other well and that couldn't be more clear right now."

The Lady Barons finish their season with a record of 13-6-1, their best record in program history.