Franciscan 1, Allegheny 0

Starting XI 
Catherine DeWolf, Elise Doyle, Teaghan Elmore, Bella Urso, Isabella Corley, Felicity Igot, Abigail Parker, Kierra Wilson, Brenna Pereira, Abby Measor, & Goalkeeper - Callie Giguere 

How It Happened 
    The Barons playoff hopes were on life-support coming into last night's game. They were in a win or be eliminated from playoffs position. Their counterparts were the team ahead of them and were one win away from fending off the Barons and clinching playoffs. The bitter cold, frigid conditions froze the cold-blooded Gators who left Steubenville scoreless and under-the-gun with the red hot Barons on their heels.
    The conditions created an interesting strategy hurdle. Do you sub players to get their legs fresh, but risk them getting cold, stiff and at-risk for injury, or bank on their conditioning at this point in the year and keep them on the field and warm. Last night we saw both approaches and it was evident which one was correct.
    The Gators began the game on the attack. The Barons took a very defensive posture and did everything they could to protect their keeper. Mid-way through the first half the Barons won a 50/50 ball at midfield and flipped their formation into the attack. Teaghan Elmore, still sick with the scoring bug, beat her opponent deep on the left side of the field. She was practically standing out of bounds when she sent, what everyone thought was going to be a cross, into the box. She had different plans. Why send a cross and hope it finds a teammates foot, when you can just shoot it instead? Elmore brilliantly bent the ball from an impossible angle to wrap around the goalpost and find the back of the net. The keeper, the defender, even the commentators were left stunned and in disbelief that she not only attempted a shot from that position, but scored from that position. 
    25 minutes in, 65 more to go, and a 1-0 lead the Barons had to complete the daunting task of holding onto the lead for a long time. This is where the aforementioned strategies came into play. The Gators chose to send mass substitutions in. On two occasions the Gators swapped half of their field players. The Barons mostly stayed put. Only two bench players saw the field. Normally, this would cause the Gators to have fresher legs late and mean they would beat the Barons to every ball. Instead, the Gators got cold and the Barons that stayed on the field stayed warm. When the fresh Gators should've been physically dominating the Barons, instead they were stiff, cold, and had to spend time getting warm and loose again. Ultimately, as the game drew on, the Barons got stronger and the lack of substitutions became more and more an advantage.
    The Barons now sit one point behind Allegheny in PAC standings. Both teams have a similar strength of schedule remaining. The last week of regular season play is going to be an exciting one. The Barons are still in a must win situation, but also have the potential of climbing all the way into 4th place. It's a tight race in the PAC and we can't wait to see how it turns out. 



Inside the Numbers  
- Giguere made 6 saves to grab her 3rd shutout of the year
- The Barons took only 2 SOG, but made them count
- Teaghan's goal is the 7th of her career and the her first game-winner

Who's Next? 
Franciscan remains at home on Saturday for a matchup against Hiram. It will be Senior Day in Steubenville and the first conference matchup against the Terriers in program history. The Barons are 2-3 all-time against the Terriers, including wins in their last two meetings. Last time they played each other was during the 2023 season. Tania Davidson scored the game-winning goal in the second half for the Barons in a 2-1 win in that last matchup. 

Women's Soccer Fall ID Camp
Franciscan Women's Soccer is excited to offer an ID camp for aspiring college athletes on Monday, November 17th. The camp is open to athletes entering 9th-12th grade this Fall. Participants will have the opportunity to receive training from the women's soccer coaching staff as well as interact with current players. Campers will participate in Athlete Visit Day in the morning and a typical Franciscan training session in the evening. For more information and to register click here. Campers must also register with Admissions for the visit day here.

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