GREENSBURG, Pa. The Franciscan men's soccer team clinched the No. 4 seed in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament for the third-straight season as the Barons defeated Pitt.-Greensburg 2-0 on the road in both teams' regular-season finale, Tuesday afternoon.
Sophomore Brian Gaughan (Hopkinton, MA/Hopkinton) posted his third-straight shutout and sixth of the season to lead the Barons to their 11th win of the year. With the shutout, Gaughan tied Franciscan's single-season shutout out record (six) and set the program's single-season win record (11). The sophomore needed just three saves for the clean sheet as he pushed his season total to 79, just one shy of Franciscan's single-season save record. Following the contest, head coach Christan Bobak named Gaughan the team's Player of the Match.
After a relatively quiet start to the game, the Barons got on the board in the 30th minute. After Franciscan drew a foul about 30 yards out from the net, freshman Nick Miller (Galena, OH/Olentangy) curled the free kick inside the far post for his fifth goal of the season and what turned out to be the game-winner. Franciscan got two more shots off in the half but one from sophomore JP Bobak (Grand Island, NY/Canisius) went high and one from junior Chip Dougherty(Wexford, PA/North Allegheny) was saved by the Bobcat keeper.
Franciscan took the slim 1-0 lead into halftime after outshooting the Bobcats 10-1 in the first.
Bobak and sophomore Sebastian Koehler (Ashburn, VA/Seton Home Study) got the first two shots of the half off in the first five minutes but neither could find the back of the net. In the 59th minute, the Barons pushed their lead to 2-0 as Koehler found the back of the net for a team-leading eighth time. Junior Jake Rigaud (Wintersville, OH/Catholic Central) tapped the ball to Koehler who slide it under a diving Bobcat keeper from about 10 yards out from the net.
Gaughan was tested for the first time in the contest as Carson Gilarno put a shot on goal that Gaughan turned away in the 64th minute. The sophomore faced his toughest test of the game in the 81st minute when the Barons were called for a foul inside the box that set up a penalty kick. Nick Bono attempted to sneak the ball inside the far post but Gaughan made a diving save to his left to keep his shutout intact. Just over a minute later, Orazio Barbarino put a shot on net for the Bobcats but once again, Gaughan proved to be a brick wall for the Barons and stifled any hope of a late-game come back for the Bobcats.
Franciscan out-shot the Bobcats 16-10 for the contest and held an 8-2 advantage in corners.
Following the game, Coach Bobak highlighted the stellar play of Miller, Rigaud, and freshmen Matt Kuefler (Stow, MA/Home School), Gabe Schoone (Gibsonia, PA/Pine Richard).
The Barons will host D'Youville on Saturday in the opening round of the 2018Â AMCCÂ Tournament at 2:00 pm. The Spartans return to Steubenville as the No. 5 seed in the tournament.
