Franciscan 2, Washington & Jefferson 1

Franciscan Starters 
Chris St. George, Joseph St. George, Nick Cross, Mikey Irvin, Joshua Atkinson, Augustine Rubino, Jonathan Schriner, Ryan Miller, Nick Miller, Liam Nagle & Goalkeeper - Jax Mautone  

Washington & Jefferson Starters
Romero, Irankunda, Byas, Joseph, Bowser, Keber, Bowser, Agostoni, Pessinaba, Moleiro, & Goalkeeper - Boldosser

How It Happened 
    Franciscan came into last night's contest sitting in third place in the PAC behind W&J and Grove City. After the clean 2-1 victory the Barons now share second place with the Presidents with 10 PAC points and 5 points behind first place Grove City.
    Coach Ridenour tweaked his attack plan by moving midfielder Nick Miller back to in the formation. Coach has moved the veteran player back a few times in the last two years all for different reasons. Watching the Presidents' forwards I wandered if it was a defensive shift or a strategy to have Nick play the long ball and get behind weaker defenders. The strategy paid off. The early parts of the first half were all Barons. Nick Miller, Liam Nagle, and Joshua Atkinson stifled any Presidents runs up field. The opposing defense held firm early on. The first few shots from the Barons were forced wide and the first Baron SOG wasn't until 22 minutes in from Augustine Rubino. Some may see it as luck, but constant pressure wears on an opponent and will cause mistakes. Unfortunately for W&J Jonathan Schriner was in position to capitalize on one of those mistakes. Nick Miller played a long ball that the W&J goalkeeper tried to corral way out of the net at the front of the box. He mishandled the ball which sputtered out sideways right in front of Schriner. He only needed one touch to gather and fire the ball through the middle of the net. The Barons held on to this 1-0 lead through halftime.
    Early in the second half the Presidents had a corner kick. The cross was placed near side and bounced off of a couple players before popping far side of the goal in front of a President's forward. He was able to put it in before Mautone could rotate and the game became tied at 1-1. The tie didn't last long. Four minutes later the Barons were back on the attacking end. Jonathan Schriner sent a cross from the right side to find Nick Cross. Nick beat the goalkeeper and gave the Barons the go-ahead goal. After that point the game became progressively more chippy. The head official today let many physical plays go through and play on all game long. Near the end he began trying to reign in the physical play and started doling out yellow cards. Coach Ridenour got a piece of the action as he pleaded for his guys, but thanks to veteran nerves the Barons held firm and kept their one goal lead.

Inside the Numbers  
-Jonathan Schriner's 3 points is tied for his best offensive performance this season
-Jonathan Schriner and Mikey Irvin led the game with 3 shots
-The Barons collected 4 yellow cards
-They out shot their opponents 16-10 and in a very rare occurrence gave more corner kicks than received 9-4
-Nick Cross's goal is his 3rd of the season.

Who's Next? 
Franciscan will remain at home to take on Chatham on Wednesday night at Trinity Health System Field. The Barons are 1-1 all-time against the Cougars with each being conference matchups over the last two seasons. Last season Franciscan dominated the possession numbers, but the Cougars would break free for an early goal and one in the second half for added cushion. The Barons fell by a 2-0 score. The Cougars are off to a slow start but with a handful of conference games left they can still work their way back into the playoffs.

Men's Soccer ID Camp
Franciscan Men's Soccer is excited to offer an ID Camp for aspiring college athletes on Sunday, November 20th, 2022. Participants will have the opportunity to receive training from the men's soccer coaching staff, as well as interact with current players. Players will participate in a typical Franciscan training session and gain an understanding of the competitive and challenging environment of collegiate athletics. For more information click here

Stay Connected 
Be sure to follow Franciscan Athletics on Youtube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for the most in-depth coverage.