Franciscan 1, Mount Union 2

Starting XI 
Catherine DeWolf, Elise Doyle, Teaghan Elmore, Elise Winogradoff, Eva Dexter, Rhoswen Elmore, Anni Winogradoff, Kierra Wilson, Abigail Parker, Lillian Torbeck, & Goalkeeper - Rebekka Dill 

How It Happened 
    Last year in the 89', the Purple Raiders snuck a goal in to break the tie and squeak out a victory. Occasional dark clouds threatened the sky, but no forecast for rain or storm existed. No one anticipated the lightning strike that came in the end of regulation. During pre-game I overheard the Raider assistant coach preaching to his athletes, "they want revenge for last year".
    Franciscan goal scorers got off to a hot start in the Barons' home-opener. They began the game with 4 shots and 2 on-goal in the first couple minutes. The Purple Raiders flipped the field briefly, but the Barons came right back down with a quick strike from Dexter. The goaltender saved her first attempt. The defense made a poor effort to clear the ball which Anni Winogradoff picked off 40yds from net. The defenders couldn't change their momentum in time and Anni placed a perfect lead pass to Dexter in-stride. Dexter finished the play off and beat the goaltender this time to give the Barons an early 1-0 lead.
    They held this lead through half, but just five minutes into the second half the Purple Raiders tied it up. The Purple Raiders used their depth and made 7 substitutions in the last 15 minutes. Those fresh legs allowed them to win 50/50 balls and keep the pressure on the Baron defense. 
    The proverbial lightning hit the same spot this year. With just under a minute remaining, the Raiders took a hard shot low left. Dill made the diving save, but couldn't corral the ball. The rebound popped out far right where another Raider punched it in. That is twice in two years the Barons suffered a last second goal to lose by one to this team. 

Inside the Numbers  
-Dexter's goal is the first of her career
-Teaghan's sister Rhoswen makes her first career start
-Dill recorded 5 saves
-The Barons started four freshmen

Who's Next? 
Franciscan will have a week off from competition, as they do not take the field until Sunday, September 15th. They will travel to Juniata for their first meeting against the Eagles all-time. This will be the fourth PAC team that Juniata has played this season. They tied Geneva and lost to Westminster already this season, and they will play Washington & Jefferson the day before the Barons take the field with them in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.

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