Franciscan 7, Chatham 26

Franciscan Starters 
Charles Wilson, Ayden Burke, Eli Everts,  Joe James, Michael Brox, Luke Reimer, Thomas LeBlanc, James Masso, James Masso, and Goalie - John Kirk 

How It Happened 
    The afternoon began with Luke Reimer's jersey retirement ceremony. Luke's father, stepmother, sisters, with his to be fiance's parents and twin sister, joined coach Pete on the field and were presented a plaque with Luke's green #1 jersey, his last headshot, and recent action photo. A similar plaque with Luke's favorite jersey, the black alternates, will be hung in Finnegan Fieldhouse in a prominent location to remember and honor him. This past Saturday marked the final time a #1 lacrosse jersey will be seen at Trinity Health Systems field. Thank you to all who attended in support of the Reimer family and the Men's Lacrosse team.
    If you would like to view the Jersey Retirement Ceremony you kind find photos in the gallery here.
    After a solemn moment of memory mixed with joyous tears of celebrating Luke's life, the men took the field to face the Chatham Cougars who sat second in the PAC. The Barons had already clinched their first ever playoff berth, but Saturday was a test against a championship contender to both gauge their readiness and possibly improve their seeding. An upset win from the Barons also opened the potential to move up in the standings and host a playoff game. 
    The team came out slightly flat. They gave up a quick goal which is something coaches always preach to avoid, but the Barons' Masso answered right back. The Cougars went on a small run with a handful of unanswered goals before the Barons added two before half. Going into the extended half period, the Barons were down, but feeling great about a small deficit in the face of a below average half performance. 
    The Cougars however, must've felt their performance was also well below average. They stormed out of the half break and went on a scoring rampage. They had 13 unanswered goals in the second half before Joe James netted a couple. 
    There was a lot to be critical over for coach Pete, but an excellent game to battle test your team and sharpen them just before playoffs begin. 

Inside the Numbers 
- Joe James scored a hat trick with two late goals
- Burke was the Barons second leading scorer with 3 points (2G & 1A)

Up Next
The Barons are home Wednesday, April 22nd at 7pm to face the Washington & Jefferson College Presidents. In their last matchup, the Barons had a resounding victory on the road defeating the Presidents 20-9. The Barons need the win to both enter playoffs on an upswing and to avoid dropping to the 6 seed. With a win and the Gators losing to Westminster, the Barons will hold the 5 seed and travel to Westminster for the Quarterfinals. If either of those stipulations aren't met they will be the 6 seed and on the road to face Saint Vincent instead.

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