Franciscan 1, Grove City 4

Starting XI
Benjamin James, Kolbe Rice, Joseph St. George, Augustine Rubino, Jonathan Schriner, Joshua Atkinson, Lucas Cross, Ryan Miller, Zachary Muldoon, Julien Freeman, & Goalkeeper Jax Mautone  

How It Happened 
    The last time the Barons defeated the Grove City Wolverines was 2008 when coach Zeph Swope played. The past few years, the Wolverines have been a rough matchup for the Barons. For the past two years, the Bison did some heavy-lifting to knock off the Wolverines in tournament play. This year the Barons came face to face with the red archenemy. 
    The Wolverines scored an early goal (6th min) and you sensed the life being sucked out of the air. Wolverines' Eck is very good at one thing...taking shots (5th in the PAC). Not as much scoring goals, but rips shots at the net at a high volume. Tonight he sent one of his three on target and converted to get what would be the game winner in the 17th minute. Most of the remainder of the half was a doldrums of the Barons just trying to hang on and stay within striking distance. Towards the end of the half you began to see some life. In the last five minutes, the Barons ripped off five shots more than half of their total first half shots. 
    Coach Ridenour gave a halftime interview and had a calm sense of confidence. He said, "we've won a championship in this exact situation". A halftime speech with that resounding confidence, a few expert adjustments, and some energy and life the Barons began showing at the end was the exact recipe to put the Wolverines on their heels. The Barons came out in the second half determined to be the only ones to touch the ball and take a shot. They meticulously worked the ball up the field. Then, when they saw their opportunities exploded through the gaps and put the Wolverine goaltender under constant strain. This slowly wore down the defense and the keeper and eventually paid off. In the 72nd minute, Lucas Cross ran down a long backward Wolverine pass toward the left corner of the box near the end line. The Wolverine goalkeeper tried to come out and contest Cross, but had to use his feet. They both fell down jockeying for the ball, but Cross got up first and head toward the empty net with the ball. The goalkeeper swung his foot from on the ground to trip Cross. Initially the ref wasn't going to call a foul. He signaled goal kick and the arena erupted. He consulted his AR on the sideline and after much deliberation awarded Franciscan the PK. Ryan Miller stepped up and like many times this season converted the attempt. Now the score was 2-1. The Barons had been crushing the Wolverines all across the field and everyone was energized. Even the Franciscan gameday coordinator started to believe. The Barons stayed on the attack and for another 10 minutes it didn't look like the Wolverines were going to have any answer to the Barons. However, the aggression comes with a risk. Jax Mautone is all alone on his side of the field. If the Barons have a miscue, it could put Mautone on an island. Don't get me wrong, you play to win, and I would put all my faith in that man too, but in the 81st minute disaster struck. A Wolverine broke free and they converted the 4 vs 4 quick counter attack to go up 3-1. With only 9 minutes remaining it was hard to feel optimistic about a comeback. Hard, but not impossible. Just three minutes later, the Wolverines converted again to go up 4-1 and at that point you could feel the despair. For the first time in three years, the Barons will not be in the PAC championship. 
    This team is an incredibly talented group. The excitement around what they can do draws crowds game after game. The men await an announcement for a bid to the ECAC championship tournament next week and hope to end their season with that tournament championship. 

Inside the Numbers  
-Ryan Miller was a perfect 6-6 in PK's this year
-Three Barons (Lucas Cross, Joe St. George, and Ryan Miller) were top 5 in goals scored in the PAC this season; Rubino was 10th in the PAC 
-Ryan Miller, Joe St. George, and Jon Schriner were 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively in assists in the PAC
-Franciscan led the PAC in points, shots, goals, and assists.

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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