HIRAM, Ohio – The Franciscan University men's soccer team couldn't seem to find their rhythm on offense as the Barons fell to Hiram, 3-0, Tuesday evening.

With the loss, the Barons slip to 1-2 on the season while Hiram improves to 1-2-1 overall.

Hiram took an early lead as Zac Cairns found the back of the net just 5:57 into action for his first goal of the young season. The Hiram offense was able to draw the Baron goalie out of the net and Vaal Ngalla slipped the ball to Cairns for the score.

"We can't fall back on this, but once again we dealt with some injuries to our backline tonight and had to move some people around and had freshmen playing in key defensive positions," commented head coach Ward Rogers. "[Zac Cairns] was making some very strong runs and moves and some of the freshmen playing in the back had a hard time staying on him as a more experienced player would."

The Baron defense was able to hold off the Terriers as sophomore goalie Thomas Dosedal and the FUS defense faced 11 more shots in the first 45 minutes. Dosedal posted four saves in the opening half.

The FUS offense was unable to match Hiram's output as the Barons were held shot-less in the first half.

"We just weren't holding the ball enough in the midfield. It all really depends on people being in their spots on the field and when we have a lot of changes in the depth chart and people playing out of position, we have a hard time holding on to the ball," continued coach Rogers. "They had a lot of shots and we were concentrated on taking spots away on the field. We were trying to play more defensive-minded which hurt us on the offensive side of the field."

Following the break, Cairns scored his second and third goals of the game less than two minutes apart at the 55:16 and 57:40 marks.

"We had two freshmen playing outside back for 90 minutes and it's a lot of pressure on freshmen to play a technical team like Hiram for that long. Once they gain experience and get used to the speed of the collegiate game, they will be a great defense for us."

"It will take them a while to adjust and for most it's their first time playing this season and against one of the better teams we will play this season so it was tough to keep that high level of concentration needed."

Dosedal turned away one more shot in the second half while the Terriers took eight shots in the second half.

Once again, the Barons were held shot-less for the final 45 minutes.

"Hiram is a very strong program. It is well coached and full of very technically sound players. We did a good job tracking their players and holding them to just three goals."

"We are too good of a team to rest on moral victories but we adjusted well to the level of play Hiram brings each year and need to do better possessing the ball against Marietta."

Franciscan looks to even its record at 2-2 as the Barons host Marietta on Wednesday at 5:00 pm.