SARAH WANDOR
STAFF WRITER
The Franciscan University of Steubenville men’s soccer team annihilated the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg Bobcats 6-0 at home Tuesday, Oct. 15.
The top of the match was slow for the Barons as energy was low. This caused many of their scoring efforts to fall short, and the Bobcats possessed the ball well. The Barons seized an opportunity when freshman midfielder Isaac Doyle crossed to sophomore midfielder Nick Miller, but his beautiful shot was saved by the Bobcat goalie.
Not long after, junior midfielder Sebastian Koehler dribbled the ball down the field and shot outside the box, but the shot sailed overhead. As the scoreless match continued, the Barons bombarded the Bobcats as sophomore forward Mikey Irvin crossed the ball to junior midfielder JP Bobak, whose shot hit the goal post.
The Barons’ efforts came to fruition when freshman midfielder Francisco Guizar scored his first collegiate goal off an assist by Koehler with 10 minutes remaining in the first half, making the score 1-0.
During the last minutes of the half, the Barons kept the ball in their opponents’ end, and sophomore midfielder Nick Cross shot with a minute left, but it was saved by the goalie. The first half ended with an attempt from junior midfielder Joe Muldoon, who shot but was also knocked away.
As the Barons began the second half, Irvin scored a goal with an assist from sophomore midfielder Jair Mautone. After this, the Barons hit their stride, and things seemed to come easier for them. This led to a header goal by Koehler with 23 minutes left to play, and seconds later, Koehler managed to score again to widen the gap to 4-0.
Only 24 seconds later, Irvin, with an assist by Miller, scored yet another goal for the Barons. The Bobcats refused to give up, however, and continued to push their offense. The Barons’ back line stood tall as the team worked to quickly regain the offensive.
With less than 13 minutes left, sophomore midfielder Nick Cross scored for the Barons. The match ended as the Barons claimed victory with a 6-0 lead.
“I thought we played well,” said head coach Christian Bobak, “especially in the second half. We played to our standard with everyone who entered the game. The player of (the) game went to Chip Dougherty for how he played in the center of the field.”
The Barons look forward to their next home game against Hilbert College Oct. 19 at 1 p.m.