STEUBENVILLE, Ohio - Baron lacrosse moved the ball well and played some of their best defense of the year against Hiram College but lacked a finishing touch in an 8-4 loss.

The Barons out-shot Hiram 33-27 but struggled to get the ball past the Terrier's goalkeeper who finished with 17 saves. Franciscan was able to get their top scorers good shooting lanes from the outside and good finishing chances from the crease but neither worked.

"I think when we look at the tape we're going to see a lot of good looks," Head Coach Pete Rosaschi said. "Their focus was there, we did everything we wanted to do, we just didn't finish."

It was the Hiram offense that started the game strong, going up 3-0 to start and finished the half up 4-1. The Baron's freshman goalie, Jonah Soucy, helped keep FUS in the game with 14 saves including 8 in the first half.

After his worst game of the young season against Bethany, Soucy looked poised and tracked the ball well.

"He saw the ball, and I thought he played really well today," Rosaschi said. "Its painful to lose this one because we played pretty well."

Franciscan put themselves in position to win early in the third quarter with a goal from freshman attack William Erskine, his second of the day, and then a goal through traffic from the team's leading scorer, Luke Gilman.

Gilman's goal pulled the Baron's within one and Erskine win on the ensuing faceoff gave FUS a chance to even the score. But keeping with the theme of the day, Franciscan missed a pair of finishing chances and the Terriers were able to score two quick goals to take control of the game.

"We keep saying 'we need to place our shots better,' and we did place our shots well," Rosaschi said. "I think our guys got a little too fancy with some extra passes. Sometimes we just need to take the shot."

Gilman was one Baron player who pulled the trigger plenty, taking 13 shots and putting nine on frame. As he has every game this season, the freshman attack led FUS in points, this time with two goals and one assist.

Fellow freshman, midfielder Paul Modzelewski played both way as a middie and while none of his 4 shots found the back of the net, he easily led the team in both ground balls with ten, and caused turnovers, with three.

"We're getting in the right direction. We're right there," Rosaschi said. "The guys are positive and we just have to keep working."

Franciscan's spring break schedule will continue with a road game against Washington & Jefferson College on Tuesday, March 11 at 6 p.m.