STEUBENVILLE – Battling the wind, hail, and cold, the Franciscan men's soccer team posted a 2-0 win over D'Youville on Senior Day, Saturday afternoon.
The elements were no friend to Franciscan but the Barons managed to play through periods of heavy rain, hail, and heavy winds to send their seniors off with a win. Franciscan got on the board late in the first half as junior Jake Rigaud (Wintersville, OH/Catholic Central) got a quick pass from the left from sophomore JP Bobak (Grand Island, NY/Canisius) right in front of the net and tucked the ball inside the near post in the 36th minute for the 1-0 advantage.
The slim lead would hold for the rest of the half as two more shots from Bobak and Rigaud were saved and a Rigaud shot was blocked.
Sophomore Brian Gaughan (Hopkinton, MA/Hopkinton) did not face a shot on goal in the first 45 as the Baron defense blocked the only two D'Youville shots of the first half.
Despite the dropping temperatures as the teams came out of halftime, the Baron offense came out of the break on fire as they got five shots off in the first 15 minutes of the second half. Gaughan faced his first test in the 52nd minute as Alf Egge put a shot on net, but Gaughan turned him away and kept the shutout intact.
Gaughan made eight saves in the second half, including three saves in a three minutes span from 80:30 – 82:19. After a Franciscan corner kick, the Barons pushed their lead to 2-0 in the 84th minute. Bobak placed the ball out in front of the net for freshman Nick Miller (Galena, OH/Olentangy). Miller had a narrow pathway about 12 yards out from the goal and he calmly waited for an opening to bury the ball into the side netting for his fourth goal of the season.
Bobak put the Barons final shot on goal in the 86th minute but was turned away by the Spartan keeper. AJ Wade got a last-ditch effort shot off at 88:45 but Gaughan made his eighth save of the game for his second-straight AMCC shutout.
Franciscan out-shot the Spartans 21-10 while the corner kicks were even at 5-5. Bobak led the Barons with five shots while junior Ian Baldau (Las Vegas, NV/St. Michael's) posted four shots for Franciscan.
Gaughan made eight saves in his fifth solo shutout of the season and the sophomore has been a part of six shutouts this season for the Barons.
Prior to the game, the Barons honored their eight seniors - Hans Baldau, Michael Bobak, Mark Fioramonti, Kyle Hames, Leo James, Jude Ledyard, Brennan McNamara, and Daniel Vander Woude. The group of seniors has helped take the soccer program to new heights in their four years. In their time with the Barons, the men's soccer team has posted 38 wins – including double-digit wins in the last three seasons. The Barons have made the playoffs for the last three years, including this year, and earned a spot in the ECAC Tournament in 2017 for the first time.
The Barons look to secure the No. 4 seed in the upcoming AMCC tournament on Tuesday as they face Pitt.-Greensburg in the regular season finale for both teams at 3:15 pm.
