BEREA, Ohio—Franciscan University men's lacrosse faced their biggest challenge of the season to date, losing several players to injury and struggling to maintain an offensive presence in their 31-1 loss to Baldwin Wallace University.

"We knew this was going to be a good team," head coach Pete Rosaschi said. "I've seen them play other teams we have faced and this is by far the best team we play. It was a humbling experience, but our guys contested well to the end."

The Barons fell behind early as the Yellow Jackets scored 12 goals in the first quarter and four in the second. FUS' lone goal came from Peter Herrmann with just under two minutes left in the half.

"That was a beautiful goal," Rosaschi said. "Peter came around the right side and took an angle to go high up top, but he ducked underneath and made an aggressive move to the cage."

Although the goal marked a positive moment for the Barons, it was quickly overshadowed as Herrmann and four other players sustained injuries in the second half, forcing two of them to sit out the rest of the game.

"We had a triage standing on our sidelines," Rosaschi said. "It was just a tough day all the way around."

The Barons also suffered from the absence of face off man Mark Hanlon, which led to only 10 ground balls as compared to Baldwin Wallace's 48. Little possession time for the green and gold and a subsequent 12 shots to the Yellow Jacket's 68 was also a key to the lopsided score.

The men were able to stay near their goal of under 20 turnovers with 22, however. Franciscan also finished with 13-21 clears and just three penalties against BW's efficient offense, which Rosaschi said was encouraging based on the high level of competition.

"Some things were not so bad. We did not play stupid, we did not play dirty," Rosaschi said. "They were a better team than us, period."

Nevertheless, Rosaschi said facing such a high level of competition was a valuable experience for the young team.

"Our guys see how high the game can be elevated and then they say, 'Oh wow, I could do that.' A team will play up or down to the level of competition, so it is beneficial to play a team like this," Rosaschi said.

The Barons will next face Thiel College at home on Wednesday, April 15 at 5pm.