NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Swiftly converted penalty kicks and a steady defense determined the day for Baron Soccer as they began their 2014 season with a 2-2 tie against Westminster College in the Westminster/Thiel Tournament.

Twenty minutes into the game saw Franciscan down 2-0 to the Titans due to penalties, but the Barons continued to hang with their opponents, waiting for the right moment to respond. That moment came late in the second half when freshman forward Leo Herrmann followed up an FUS freekick and put it in the back of the net.

"We've been really trying to work on a possession game in the preseason, and our two difficult preseason scrimmages made the men a little nervous trying to hold the ball for the first fifteen minutes," head coach Ward Rogers said. "After we settled down, we started to take control and the game turned midway through the first half."

Invigorated by the goal, the Barons quickly tied the game about 15 minutes later with a junior John Imbimbo taking advantage of a penalty kick from a Westminster handball.

After 90 minutes of play, the score remained tied, pushing the teams into a first, and eventually a second, 10 minute overtime. During the final twenty minutes, the FUS defense remained strong with junior goalie Eddie Huber making two essential saves to hold Westminster at bay.

The Barons had two goals called back in overtime. One due to an off-sides call and the other from a delayed penalty call.

"We were able to possess the ball very well and expose some areas of the field, but we just weren't able to take advantage of the spaces we created," Rogers said. "Westminster's a strong team, a really quality opponent, and they had us under pressure in the second half. Our defense really stepped up big in the two overtimes."

Rogers added that a bright spot in the day was Herrmann's performance.

The freshman goal was the team's first of the season, the second year in a row that a freshman as scored the season's first goal, and his first as a collegiate athlete. Herrmann comes from a long line of FUS soccer players and already shows promise as the only freshman starter on the team.

Other strong contributors were Herrmann's older brother, senior defender Peter Herrmann, juniors Jace Vansteenburg and Edwin Edwin de St. Aubin, and sophomore forward Joseph Duran.

"In the nine years I've been here this is one of the hardest working teams in the pre-season," Rogers said. "But we've got to work even harder for the next game. We play a lot of quality opponents this year. Each game is a new challenge and we have to continue to progress. We played a nice game but we're not there yet. We have a lot of growth we have to go through."

The Barons will return to Westminster on Saturday, August 30 to continue the tournament with a game against Thiel at 1pm.