Grove City 2, Franciscan 1

Franciscan Starters 
Chris St. George, Justin Fioramonti, Mikey Irvin, Sebastian Koehler, Jonathan Schriner, Ryan Miller, Joshua Atkinson, Nick Miller, Joseph St. George, Liam Nagle, & Goalkeeper - Jax Mautone  

Grove City Starters
Kimmich, Deaven, Belitz, Roewer, Delucia, Rebsamen, Meredith, McFeaters, Hardin, Kimmich, & Goalkeeper - Greenway

How It Happened 
    Franciscan Men's Soccer lost their first conference game to Grove City 1-2. The first half was a tight contest. Grove City possessed the ball well and put a lot of pressure on Franciscan Goalkeeper Jax Mautone. Mautone made incredible saves in the first half to keep his team in the game. Franciscan had one opportunity off a free kick where the ball hit the top of the goal post then dropped straight down. Franciscan bench and Justine Fioramonti standing right on the goal line felt the ball went in. Officials disagreed and Grove City was able to clear the ball out before Franciscan could punch it in on the follow up. At halftime, the score was 0-0. 
    Grove City scored the first goal fo the night, as a header off a corner kick. It took Franciscan less than two minutes to have a response. Nick Miller took a free kick off a foul from Grove City's Hardin. Miller sent a high ball to the front right side of the goal. Mikey Irvin rose above the defenders and sent a header to the left high corner of the goal. Irvin beat the goalkeeper, and tied the game up 1-1. It took another 30 minutes of teams battling for the go-ahead goal, but Grove City's Belitz would find it in the 86th minute. Grove City did all they could to preserve their lead, and Franciscan just couldn't find the opportunities they needed to tie the game again. Grove City would win and snap the 6-game losing streak from Franciscan.

Inside the Numbers  
-Mikey Irvin has 3 goals on the season.
-Jax Mautone had 12 saves, his second double digit save game this season.
-The Barons are 6-1 in the PAC where there is a three-way tie for first.

Who's Next? 
Franciscan will remain at home for a matchup against Chatham on Saturday at 3 pm. This will be the Barons Senior Day and last regular season home game. Franciscan is 1-0 all-time against Chatham with a 4-2 win against them last season. Mikey Irvin had a career best game in the win last year by scoring a hat-trick, including the game-winning goal.

Stay Connected 
Be sure to follow Franciscan University on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for the most in-depth coverage of FUS athletics.