Franciscan 4, Thiel 3

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  

Thiel Starters
Wolfe, Kosenina, Yopp, Newsome, Trobek, Blatt, Young, Lentz, Hatton, Davy & Goalkeeper - Kristian

How It Happened 
    The Thiel Tomcats came into town with high hopes, but two late yellow cards stopped any chance of tying the game against the Barons. Tonight's game saw a total of 7 yellow cards handed out. 
    Coming into the game the Tomcats were winless on the season. They struck gold first with a lucky goal off a restart. The Barons were called for offsides just in the attacking end. The Tomcats quickly played the free kick and sent a deep ball toward Jax Mautone on the second touch. Jax played the ball aggressively and came out to the edge of the box to play the ball. However, the Tomcat striker got to the ball first and found the back of an empty net. The Barons settled down and resumed their game of control. They controlled possession of the ball and out shot their opponents 15-4 in the first half. The ball control and constant pressure wore down the Tomcat defense and the Barons put together 3 goals from Augustine Rubino, Mikey Irvin, and Nick Miller off a PK before halftime. The first of many yellow cards was handed out in the 35th minute to Benjamin James for an excessive foul. All seemed well for the Barons at halftime; they had a 3-1 lead, significant differential in shots and time of possession. Shockingly, as the Barons ran across the field to their locker room the head official pulled out a yellow card. To the dismay of many it was on the Baron coach. 
    The their credit the Tomcats played with intensity and energy. Out of the gates in the second half, they put pressure on the Barons and grabbed their second goal. Just like the first half, the Barons quickly countered. Jonathan Schriner was fouled inside the box and awarded the PK. He converted the second PK of the night and his go ahead go put the Barons up 4-2. One Thiel PK goal and 3 yellow cards later we have a 4-3 game with 4 minutes remaining. Coach Ridenour had many of his freshmen out on the field to close out the game, but the intensity and pressure from the Tomcats forced coach to wave sub his starters back in. The Barons got out of their defensive end and relieved Jax Mautone from the suspense. With under two minutes remaining and the ball on the Tomcats end, the head official handed a yellow card to a Tomcat defender. Per ruling the clock stopped and the officials signal the clock stopped, but then during his conversation with the player signaled to restart the clock. He continued is brief conversation then signaled for the Baron free kick. At this point there was not much more than 60 seconds remaining. The coach from Thiel could not fathom a time restart for a card. This drew the attention of the official who walked over and gave the coach a card. By the time the charity of Yellow cards ended, there was no time for a counter attack. The Barons held off the visiting opponents to bring the conference record to even.

Inside the Numbers  
-Chris St. George grabbed his 3rd assist of the season
-Jonathan Schriner's goal and assist bring his season point total to 10
-Nick Miller scored his 3rd goal of the season
-Augustine Rubino's goal is the 3rd of this season
-Tonight's win is the 3rd in a row vs the Tomcats and have outscored them 15-6 in that stretch 

Who's Next? 
Franciscan will head to Bethany for a rematch of the 2021 PAC Championship game on Friday evening. These two team played twice last season with the road team winning each matchup. In their regular season meeting at Bethany, Franciscan won by a score of 4-2. Liam Nagle, Mikey Irvin, Ryan Miller, and Jonathan Schriner all would score while Jax Mautone registered nine saves. The Barons will be ready to flip the script from the Championship game, as Bethany would score twice early and hold on to win that matchup by a score of 3-1. 

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

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