LATROBE, Pa. – The Lady Baron's recovered their newfound aerial prowess in a 1-0 win against the St. Vincent College Bearcats. Although the action of the game climaxed in the first few minutes, the team worked hard to hold onto their lead.

Only six minutes into the first half, senior forward Jordan Byerly finished a beautiful cross from senior forward Julia Cocozza with a header to the back of the net. Byerly's header recovered the streak of finished crosses that earned Franciscan the first win of their season against the Chatham Cougars.

"Last year, headers and finishing crosses was not one of our strengths, so this year, they've been working on it a lot," Head Coach Clare McBane said.

Hard work in the offseason has paid off particularly well for Byerly who McBane said played one of the best games of her career.

"Jordan Byerly played a phenomenal game and that really showed in her being the only one to score a goal," McBane said.

Moving into the second half, the Lady Barons continued to rediscover their chemistry, which disappeared against Waynesburg College earlier in the week, and strung together large chunks of possession.

"The ball was definitely on their side of the field more than ours, but definitely in the midfield a lot of the game." McBane said. "The biggest difference was the quality of the passing. The passes were a lot more accurate with a lot more possession on our end."

While the second half continued to build chemistry, the first half featured a stark turnaround from the Lady Baron's slow start in a 4-2 loss to Waynesburg.

"The first half of this game, we came out very hot, very hard," McBane said. "They clearly wanted to win this game right at the beginning. It definitely looked different."

Looking ahead, McBane said the team cannot give into complacency.

"I'm proud of the effort that they did put in, but our focus right now really is getting that to translate it into the next game and making sure we are continuing to improve as we move forward," McBane said.

The Lady Barons will play their first home game of the season against Bethany College on Saturday, September 13th at 1pm.