STEUBENVILLE – The Franciscan men's soccer scored three unanswered goals in the final 34 minutes of action to battle back to a 3-2 win over Waynesburg, Tuesday afternoon.

Trailing 2-0 after a goal from the penalty spot early in the second half, the Barons kicked their offense into high gear and put the pressure on the Waynesburg back line. Senior goalie Thomas Dosedel made a stop and kicked off the offense in front of him. The Barons were able to move the ball methodically up the field before senior Leo Herrmann broke away with the ball to the right of the goal and sent the perfect cross to freshman JP Bobak in traffic and Bobak finished the shot off with the help of the crossbar to get the Barons on the board, 2-1, just over 10 minutes into the second half.

That goal sparked Franciscan to take its play to the next level and FUS was able to control much of the action in the midfield and push towards the Waynesburg goal, thanks in a large part to the dominant performance of Ian Baldau. The sophomore won a majority of the balls in the air that came his way and was able to direct traffic and keep the momentum in the Barons favor.

After a tough foul just inside the box two minutes after Bobak's goal, a Waynesburg PK went just wide and what could have been a momentum killer turned into a bigger swing towards FUS. Franciscan used that momentum and sent a flurry of shots towards the Yellow Jacket keeper, none more important than the three in a row just ten minutes later. Bobak had a shot blocked but the Barons maintained possession and sophomore Joseph Leonardi got a clean shot off but was saved by Waynesburg. Herrmann collected the rebound and his signature hard shot deflected off the goalie's fingers and crossed the goal line to tie the game, 2-2, with 25 minutes to play.

Not wanting to settle, the Barons kept the pressure on Waynesburg. The Yellow Jackets responded in kind but Dosedel had three incredible saves, including one just punching the ball over the crossbar, in the next 12 minutes to keep the game tied. At the 77:24 mark, Bobak drew a foul inside the 18-yard box as he hustled towards the goal and set the Barons up for a kick from the penalty spot. Herrmann didn't miss a beat and slid the ball under the goalie's dive into the back right corner of the goal to give the Barons the lead, 3-2.

Franciscan was able to get off three more shots, including one that was saved, in the final 12 minutes to Waynesburg's lone shot, and the score held 3-2 in favor of Franciscan.

The Yellow Jackets controlled the first half, knocking the Barons off balance and out-shot Franciscan 13-6 in the first 45 minutes. The game's first goal came in the first as Thomas Drake checked into the game and immediately found him in the midst of the action. Cam Sutherland sent a ball through the Baron back line that Drake headed in under a diving Dosedel.

Franciscan had its best scoring chance in the final five minutes of the first as Mark Fioramonti sent ball into the box from about 30 yards out and Herrmann fed it to freshman Sebastian Koehler but Koehler's shot went just over the crossbar. The fantastic build and finish, though didn't score a goal, started to build a confidence that the Barons carried into the second half.

Waynesburg made it 2-0 early in the second thanks to a goal from the penalty spot, but the Barons never backed down.

Waynesburg held a 23-18 advantage in shots for the game, but Franciscan outshot its opponent 12-10 in the second.

Dosedel finished the day with 11 saves while his counterpart, James Synder made eight in the loss. Herrmann led the Barons with seven shots, all on goal, while Bobak had four and Baldau finished with three.

Franciscan returns to action on Saturday when the Barons travel to nearby Bethany (W.Va.) on Saturday for a 1:30 pm start.