Franciscan 3, Muskingum 0
Starting XI
Zachary Muldoon, Kolbe Rice, Joseph St. George, Augustine Rubino, Anthony Venditti, Jonathan Schriner, Julien Freeman, Joshua Atkinson, Lucas Cross, Ryan Miller, & Goalkeeper - Aiden Miller
How It Happened
Yesterday marked the 2nd annual Baron Fall Classic. The tournament is a 4-team, 2-game tournament hosted at Trinity Health System field. Last year, the Barons won the tournament as the only team finishing undefeated. They took down Penn State Beaver then for the first time in program history, defeated the old AMCC rival Penn State Behrend. This year they kicked things off against a familiar foe for coach Ridenour from his OAC years in the Muskingum Fighting Muskies.
Each team had a couple shots on goal early in the contest. After the players figured out the other team's strategies they settled into a closely contested back and forth in the midfield. In the first half there was a twenty minute stretch without a shot on goal from either squad.
The Barons veteran midfield and defensive corp helped keep the ball on the attack half of the field for a majority of the time. The constant pressure on the Muskie defensive end eventually cracked and Kolbe Rice scored the first goal in the 40'. After the first goal, the flood gates opened. The Barons scored a quick second goal. In the 41' minute. Sophomore Daniel Wayert scored his first collegiate goal unassisted. Muldoon helped put the nail in the coffin in the 47'. He played a long ball down the left sideline. The ball took one big bounce passed a defender landing right in front of the 2023 PAC Offensive Player of the Year Lucas Cross. Cross took one touch and buried the ball into the back of the net.
Inside the Numbers
-A. Miller recorded 2 saves in this season's first shutout
-Aidan Henninger had a team-high 5 shots & 3 SOG
-R. Miller and A. Henninger registered assists on the Rice goal
Who's Next?
Franciscan will face La Roche tonight in game 2 of today's contests at 7 p.m. The Barons are 6-9-1 all-time against the Redhawks, but they have not played them since 2019. The last time these two teams met was in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Quarterfinals in 2019. The Barons won by a score of 3-1 with a pair of goals from Sebastian Koehler and one from Nick Miller. The Redhawks were picked to finish 7th in the AMCC according to their Preseason Coaches' Poll that was released last week.
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