VERONICA ECKHART
STAFF WRITER
Franciscan University of Steubenville’s men’s soccer team fell to the Westminster Titans this past Wednesday afternoon at home with a final score of 4-0.
The Barons kicked off the match with a fast shot on goal from senior midfielder Mark Fioramonti in the third minute, but it was blocked by a close save from Westminster’s keeper. The Westminster Titans countered this shot with three of their own in the next few minutes, but to no avail. Two were wide of their mark, but sophomore goalkeeper Brian Gaughan expertly blocked the third.
Fourteen minutes into the game,Westminster pushed past Franciscan’s defense to be the first to score, curving the ball into the top right corner of the net. This effort was followed by anotherWestminster goal three minutes later.
The Barons did not lose hope, and they continued to fight hard throughout the match. Just after Westminster’s second goal, Franciscan’s sophomore midfielder JP Bobak took a header shot at the goal which was barely saved by the Titans’ keeper. He continued his drive with another shot on goal only a few minutes later, but it flew just high of its mark.
Sophomore midfielder Sebastian Koehler also took a shot on goal that was stopped by the keeper, and junior midfielder Jake Rigaud fired a long shot in the last few minutes of the half that just cleared the crossbar, leaving the Barons trailing 2-0 into halftime.
In the second half of the match, Westminster was able to maintain the shutout against Franciscan and tack an additional two goals onto the scoreboard. Despite attempts by freshman forward Mikey Irvin and senior midfielder Michael Bobak, the Barons were unable to bring the score back in Franciscan’s favor.
In the 59th minute,Westminster slid into Franciscan’s box and sent the ball just inside the right post of the goal. Ten minutes later, they fired another shot past Franciscan’s defense, scoring the final goal of the game. The teams finished with a score of 4-0 inWestminster favor.
Looking back on the game, Head Coach Christian Bobak said, “We played with energy throughout, but (we made) mistakes, and they scored off of them and we did not. We used our wings at times better, and we held possession a little bit better (than the last match), but our attack needs to get better.”
The Barons look to fire up the season with their next home game, and first conference game, against Medaille College on Saturday, Sept. 22 at 4:15 p.m.