PITTSBURGH— Franciscan University men's lacrosse team got off to a good start but fell prey to inexperience in its 13-5 loss to La Roche College.

The Barons secured a 2-0 lead early on thanks to an aggressive offense and effective shooting by sophomore Paul Modzelewski, but several key goals by La Roche's Jeremy Zang and Jon Monahan turned the tables, putting the green and gold down 4-3 by halftime.

Head coach Pete Rosaschi said the loss of the early lead was due to the learning curve of a young team but that he was pleased with the Barons' play in the first half.

"I thought we executed exceedingly well in the first half," Rosaschi said. "Our offense was extremely patient, we worked the ball down, and we really did some good things. Our lack of experience showed up in the second half."

As the Barons' pushed to re-take the game, they left the back end weakened, allowing several more goals for the Redhawks. The end of the third quarter saw FUS down 9-3.

"La Roche, to give them credit, has quite a few really top notch players, very solid and experienced," Rosaschi said, "And we don't have very much senior leadership yet because we're a young team. It was one of those games where we were never out of it, but in the end, things got away from us a little bit."

Despite being unable to finish ahead, the Barons continued to fight to the final minute, with freshman Mark Hanlon scoring early in the fourth quarter and freshman Mike Rosaschi scoring with 1:03 to go.

The Barons also improved in several areas, letting up only 18 turnovers, two less than their goal of 20. They also had 11-18 clears and won 15 of 21 faceoffs.

"We're learning and gaining experience," Rosaschi said. "You're never happy about a loss, but we did so many good things. We cleared the ball really well, our offense ran well, and we had five goals. By far, it was our best game."

Rosaschi particularly singled out the efforts of midfielders Modzelewski, Hanlon, and goalie Jonah Soucy.

Modzelewski had two goals and eight ground balls while Hanlon went 14-18 in face offs and added two goals, one assist, and eight ground balls. Soucy had 15 saves of 28 shots, finishing with a 53.5 save percent.

The Barons will next face Muskingum on the road on March 4 at 7pm.

"We've just got to relax a little bit, that's all. We have to let the game come to us instead of chasing it," Rosaschi said. "We're getting there. If we let the game come to us, we'll be fine."