VERONICA ECKART
STAFF WRITER
This Wednesday afternoon at home, the Barons men’s soccer team defeated AMCC leader Mount Aloysius College in front of crowded stands to earn its ninth win of the season.
The Barons kicked off the match with an offensive start, pushing hard up the midfield to score. Sophomore midfielder Sebastian Koehler was the first to take a shot at Mount Aloysius’s goal but was blocked by a close save from the opposing team’s keeper.
In only the eighth minute, his attack was followed up by a goal from freshman defender Liam Nagle, who knocked the ball past the goalie off of an assist from senior defender Leo James to score an epic first goal of the season. This propelled the Barons into the half with a 1-0 lead over Mount Aloysius’ Mounties.
Only minutes into the second half, Koehler brought home the second goal of the match by stealing the ball off of the Mounties’ goalkeeper with some precise footwork and curving the ball into the net with a perfectly placed shot. This success had exhilarated fans on their feet with excitement and brought Franciscan’s lead up to 2-0 over their opponents.
The Franciscan offense continued to push hard with close attempts on goal from Koehler and senior midfielder Brennan McNamara, but they were unable to score again. However, junior midfielder Jake Rigaud scored the final goal of the match off of a breakaway assisted by McNamara and freshman defender Matthew Kuefler to thrill the crowd and wrap up Franciscan’s victory.
Sophomore goalkeeper Brian Gaughan also contributed to the win with a four key saves throughout the match to hold down the Barons’ shutout, and the match closed with a score of 3-0 in Franciscan’s favor.
“It was a good team effort,” said head coach Christian Bobak. “I thought our whole defensive back line played really well. However, three kids stood out to me. Sebastian (Koehler) played really well again, and (junior defender) Ian Baldau won everything in the midfield. Jake (Rigaud) was the man of the match, and he played really phenomenally for us up top. We understand now that we can play to a higher potential. (Mount Aloysius) was undefeated in conference play and we beat them soundly on our home turf. It is good to finally play on our home field again and it’s good to get a win again.”
The Barons look forward to their next home game against D’Youville College this Saturday at 3:15 p.m.