Franciscan 4, Bethany 4

Starting XI
Benjamin James, Michael Peppiatt, Joseph St. George, Augustine Rubino, Jonathan Schriner, Joshua Atkinson, Lucas Cross, Ryan Miller, Aidan Henninger, Emanuele Ghinelli, & Goalkeeper Jax Mautone 

How It Happened 
    The Baron-Bison matchup continues to be the most exciting game of the year every year. For those who just started following, two years ago Bethany upset the Barons in the 2021 PAC Championship, then in 2022 the Barons got the best of the Bison in a rainy 2-1 victory. 
    Franciscan lead scoring off with a PK goal from Ryan Miller less than one minute into the game. Bethany answered shortly after, but Ghinelli sank one over the goalkeeper to put the Barons back up one. The rest of the first half was a highly contested and physical back and forth. 
    Bethany lead the second half off with an early goal to tie the game. The Barons seemed to have complete control of the game in the first half, but after the break, the Bison began possessing the ball more and more in the attacking end. The early second half goal did something to the Barons. The energy dipped and the Bison put up two more unanswered goals to go up 4-2. There was only 20 minutes left in the game, and the Bison felt as confident as you could. Their coach was yelling out to his players "we don't need to stall, we have a two goal lead. Just play normal". Coach Ridenour made a few great substitution decisions and the energy picked up. In the 78th minute, Augustine Rubino scored his 4th goal of the year. The Bison did their best job of stalling the game after that with players tying their shoes at every restart. The Bison were down one of their start players and subbed less frequent than the Barons. As each minute drew, the Bison became more and more tired and the Barons could see it. The guys smelled blood in the water and found another gear. With only seven minutes remaining Aidan Mahoney ripped one past the goalkeeper off a Ghinelli cross to tie the game. The shell shocked Bison stammered to try and get their win back, but the defensive-minded Barons held on to force the tie.
    The point that came with the tie kept the Barons alone in 3rd place just two points behind the three way tie for first.

Inside the Numbers  
-The Barons had 9 SOG
-Ryan Miller and Joe St. George led the Barons with 2 points each
-Mautone recorded 3 saves

Who's Next? 
Franciscan wil remain home to take on Westminster on Wednesday evening at 7:30 pm at Trinity Health System Field. This matchup has been very even over the years. The Barons are 5-5-1 all-time with wins in their last three meetings. The last two have been very close with the Barons sneaking out with 1-0 victories. Last season, Augustine Rubino scored in the first half which held up as they game-winner. 

Men's Soccer ID Camp
Franciscan Men's Soccer is excited to offer an ID Camp for aspiring college athletes on Sunday, November 19th, 2023. 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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