Stanley Colaço
Staff Writer
On Saturday, the Franciscan University of Steubenville men’s soccer team played their first game of the season against the Bethany College Bisons and came out with a 2-1 victory.
The Barons’ starting lineup featured two sophomores: forward Andrew James and midfielder Isaac Doyle; six juniors in forward Mikey Irvin, defenders Liam Nagle and Matt Kuefler and midfielders Nick Cross, Nick Miller and J.P. Bobak; and three seniors in goalkeeper Brian Gaughan and midfielders Sebastian Koehler and Jair Mautone.
The Bisons started off the game with a goal scored 12 minutes into the game, the only one of the first half.
In the second half, the Barons were able to score two goals of their own, taking the lead and managing to hold on to it throughout the game.
The first goal was scored by Miller on a penalty kick. Miller is currently tied second all-time for most penalty kicks made in one season. The second goal was made by Irvin off an assist from Koehler.
One of the biggest performances of the game came from Gaughan when the goalkeeper let in one goal while stopping eight others. Despite dealing with four times the number of attempts as Bethany, Gaughan was able to hold down as Franciscan’s last line of defense.
Gaughan is Franciscan’s current all-time leader in save percentage with almost 82%, close to 10% better than second place.
Despite the final score, the game was lopsided. Franciscan shot only about half the number of attempts as Bethany, with far less of them being on goal. The Bisons also attempted eight corner kicks, compared to the Barons’ three.
The Barons next home game will be against Thiel College March 30 at 8 p.m.