STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – A penalty kick in the final minutes of a second overtime by junior John Imbimbo gave the Barons their first conference win in a 4-3 back and forth contest against Mt. Aloysius College.

After the Mounties recovered from a 3-1 deficit with two unanswered goals in the second half, the game went into overtime despite constant Franciscan pressure on the Mounties' defense.

"We never try to make it easy," head coach Ward Rogers said.

The pressure continued into the overtime period as Franciscan continued to push players forward searching for that final goal. Their effort was rewarded in the second period of overtime when Joe Duran got the ball just inside the top of the Mount Aloysius penalty box.

He made two moves and was brought down by the Aloysius defenders surrounding him, drawing a penalty. Forward John Imbimbo put away the penalty shot, his second goal, to give the Barons a hard-earned victory.

"We were trying to put more pressure on their back four. We had three or four guys in the box and got the ball back to Joe at the top," Rogers said. "He is very tricky with the ball. He was actually going to beat them, and they just took his feet out from under him."

The game did not begin well for the Barons who gave up a goal in the first minute due to what Rogers said was a communication error. Intense pressure by the quick Mount Aloysius players led to a pass back to junior center back Jace Vansteenburg. Vansteenburg let the ball run by him unaware that an opposing player was running in behind him. The ensuing goal put the Barons down after just 30 seconds.

"We still tried to keep control of the pace of the game," Rogers said. "When the game restarted, we didn't panic; we just tried to stay with what we were trying to do."

The Barons reasserted themselves in the game, scoring their first goal off a corner kick. Junior midfielder Edwin de St. Aubin sent the ball into the box where freshman forward Leo Herrmann was able to head the ball down. It fell to Imbimbo who slammed the ball into the back of the net for his first goal.

"We're very good at getting that first touch," Rogers said. "We win that second ball in the box and we're quick on getting that shot off."

The Barons' next two goals were a product of midfield passing and the individual strength and skill of Herrmann. The freshman was able to receive the ball with space in front of him and dribbled through the Mounties' defense, scoring in the forty-sixth minute just inside the penalty box.

"Leo makes runs and pulls defenders out of shape. Tonight our guys were able to find the spaces when a defender left, and we were putting balls into those spaces," Rogers said.

Herrmann's second goal was similar to the first as he drove through the opposing defense and rocketed a shot in to the far post.

Senior right back Peter Herrmann's exit in the waning moments of the first half due to flu symptoms led to a weakened Baron defense which, the Mounties took advantage of in the second half.

Mt. Aloysius scored once on a low hard cross to a player at the far post that caught an FUS defender in an awkward position just in front of his own net. The ball went off his chest into the goal. Their equalizer came in a similar play as a Mt. Aloysius attacker beat the right back to the cross.

To combat the speedy players on that side of the field for Mt. Aloysius, Rogers said, he put in the team's faster player, freshman midfielder Dominic Vander Woude, at right back.

"He went in to a spot that he doesn't really play," Rogers said. "His speed helped us take away their advantage, and he was very composed on the ball."

Franciscan continued to generate chances against the Mounties, but the score would remain tied until Imbimbo's game-winning penalty kick in overtime.

With their first conference win under their belts, the Barons will next take on Penn State-Behrend at home on Saturday, October 4 at 3 pm.