Lack of Offense Sinks Bobcats

Seniors: Raul Diaz, Stephen Cavallo, and Danny Hutchins

Instead of peaking at the right time of year it looks like we have done just the opposite and gone back to the beginning of the season. FSU suffered two more 1-0 defeats as the offense struggles to put goals on the board.

Wednesday night ex-AMCC rival Penn St. Altoona came to town for the final non-conference match of the season. It was a competitive game that didn't see many good scoring opportunities. Despite being up a player for the majority of the second half the FSU offense was unable to find the back of the net. With two minutes remaining in regulation Altoona was awarded a penalty kick and would put it away to take the victory 1-0.

Wesley College was next up at home on Saturday for senior day and a crucial CAC contest. With wins against Wesley and Stevenson (on Wednesday) FSU would be in a position to earn 4th place in the conference playoffs and receive a home game for the first round of the CAC tournament. The Bobcats had a very sub-par performance in the first half and in the 38th minute Wesley would go ahead on a free kick from just outside the penalty area. The team would respond well at half-time and came out with a much better second half energy. FSU would out shoot Wesley 9-4 in the second half, but again were unable to finish. This makes the teams eighth one goal loss of the season.

The loss puts FSU in a must win position on Wednesday at Stevenson. With the win FSU would still need some help to qualify for the CAC tournament. Going into the final games this Tue/Wed all 9 teams are still alive and seeds 3 - 6 are still to be determined.

The offense will need to find the back of the net on Wednesday or the season will end for the Bobcats. Leading scorer, Dillon Muise who has been out since the Mary Washington game is still rehabbing and will not be available against Stevenson and reserve forward Greg Hill who picked up his second concussion of the year in the St. Mary's game has been lost for the remainder of the regular season.

Double Over-Time Again

Saturday's CAC match up against St. Mary's College ended in another 2-2 draw. It was a tail of two halves as we jumped out early to a 2-0 lead with the wind at our backs, but conceded two in the second half and would be caught playing defense the remainder of the game.

FSU jumped out early as Shawn Baker sent a forty-yard shot over the St. Mary's keepers head about 15 minutes into the game. Baker had noticed the keeper playing high off his line and with the wind at his back turned and sent one towards the goal. It was a bit ambitious, but a very heads up play that would give is the early lead. Ten minutes later Baker was in alone on the St. Mary's keeper and the keeper would be forced to take him down in the box. Mike Bistany would convert the penalty kick and give FSU a 2-0 half-time lead.

The second half was mostly St. Mary's as they possessed most of the play in the midfield and we struggled to work the ball out against the wind. St. Mary's would get on the board early off a corner kick and then midway through the half would tie the game on nice strike form about twenty-yards out.

Both overtimes were pretty uneventful except the final attack that St. Mary's mounted ended with a shot off the post. Despite giving up the two goal lead we do feel fortunate to come away with the tie on the road as St. Mary's did have the better of play and scoring opportunities. With two conference games left we are still in a position to finish anywhere from 4th place to being out of the playoffs. Saturday's game against Wesley College at 2pm will be Senior Day and will be a must win for us to get closer to securing a playoff spot for the CAC Tournament.

Shawn Baker and Mike Bistany

Team Begins to Make Strides

We finished up last week with a 1-0-1 record and continue to see improvement in our quality of play.

Last Wednesday it was a cold, rainy night in Frostburg, but despite the weather we were able to do enough to defeat St. Vincent College 2-0. It was hard to control the ball at times on the wet turf, but we limited St. Vincent's chances and towards the end of the game junior Mike Bistany put us ahead on a well struck free kick and freshman Toby Schaffner would record his first collegiate goal in the waning minutes to put the game away 2-0. It was nice to get the shutout at home and get back to finding a way to win.

Saturday we were on the road at Mary Washington. Mary Washington came into the game tied for first in the conference and boasting an impressive 7-2-1 record. We knew it would take another performance like that against York and Salisbury to keep us in the game and we were hoping to be a little more of an offensive threat this time around.

For the first time since the first game of the season we had every player healthy and available which was a big boost to the team confidence. Sophomore Dillon Muise would put us ahead in the second half with his team leading fourth goal of the season with a blast from about 20 yds. out which knuckled and went over the keepers head. Unfortunately, on the strike Muise would re-aggravate a hamstring injury and will most likely have to sit for the next few games. Mary Washington would tie the game on a penalty kick with about 20 minutes left in the game. The game went back and fourth for a while and ended with an FSU flurry of shots on the goal including what was thought to be the game winner with just seconds left as Jamie Flewellyn followed up a rebound and sent it towards the open UMW goal. A Mary Washington defender would slide out of nowhere and save the ball off the goal line to secure the tie and send the game into overtime. Neither team was very dangerous in the overtime periods and the game would end in a 1-1 draw.

We are off midweek, but back on the road this weekend against CAC opponent St. Mary's College. The parity of the conference has shown itself with all nine teams still alive for the six playoff spots as we head into the last two weeks of the season.

The boys stepped up once again and put forth a great defensive effort, but came up short against York College and lost another 1-0 match. That makes our fifth one goal loss of the season and fourth 1-0 defeat.


We just can't seem to catch a break this season as the injuries continue to mount and we just can't seem to get healthy. Both starting center backs, Jamie Flewellyn and Mike Bistany were out for the match along with central mid-fielder Bryan Whitmore who has started four of nine matches this year.

Mike Hurst and Raul Diaz had strong games replacing the center backs and did a good job of limiting York’s scoring opportunities. At the end of the first half York had not registered a shot on goal. Again the team was disciplined, played hard, and our team defense was tough to breakdown.

In the second half the game opened up more as both teams switched up formations. York was more dangerous going forward and had a few more scoring opportunities, but were held to just the one goal. We actually began to gain a little control of the game as the subs in the second half worked extremely hard and changed the flow of the game. Forward reserves Greg Hill and Michael Norman created problems up top with their speed and work rate and helped the FSU offense create four legitimate scoring opportunities in the final 15 minutes.

When the final whistle blew the team was disappointed with the result, but happy of the way they rebounded on the road against a quality opponent after a poor mid-week performance. Once again the focus will be to maintain the level of play seen against York and Salisbury and carry that over to the remaining six matches.

We will back at home on Wednesday against non-conference opponent St. Vincent College. Last year’s match was 1-1 draw.

Up and Down Season Continues

On Saturday the boys faced undefeated and nationally ranked (#17) Salisbury University.  We knew it would take our best effort on the season to compete with talented Sea Gulls.  We followed through on our game plan by playing extremely hard, staying very organized in the back, and looking for the right moments to coutner attack.  We would take Salisbury to overtime, but would fall 1-0 in the first overtime period.  The "Heart" was there all game, but it looked like they had a little more left in the legs at the end of the match.

We were pleased with the positives from the game, but realizing a loss is still a loss, we were hoping to come out against Lycoming and finally put a total soccer game together.

On the road in Williamsport, PA to face Lycoming College on Tuesday we came out strong and had several chances in the opening minutes and continued to pressure until sophomore Shawn Baker put us ahead 1-0 midway through the first half.  Lycoming would start the 2nd half with a much more aggressive attitude and were rewarded when the FSU goalkeeper misplayed a long shot on the ground and it bounced off his hands and into the back of the net to tie the game at one all.  The game settled down about 10 minutes after the goal was scored and was much more of an even match.  We would miss an open breakaway late in the game and would regret it as Lycoming would capitalize on a poor defensive clearance that would send a Lycoming player in on 1v1 to win the game with less than 5 minutes to go in the game. 

The let down following the Salisbury game is very dissappointing, so now we are re-focusing on our work ethic and taking care of  the ball in our defensive third.

This Saturday will be another challenging road test as we travel to face defending CAC Champion York College at 2pm..

Conference Play Begins

Sophomore Jason King

Capital Athletic Conference play began last Wednesday against Marymount. We started off the game a little flat and gave up another goal on a set piece midway through the first half. We responded well in the beginning of second half when Shawn Baker tallied his second goal of the season to tie the game and we began to find our comfort zone. Unfortunately a red card was issued to Raul Diaz in the 70th minute and we were forced to change tactics. The boys worked extremely hard and made up for the dismissed player as we played 40 minutes with 10 men and hung on for the double overtime draw.

Saturday saw the team travel to Washington and Jefferson. W&J controlled play for the beginning portion of the half, but after a formation change we settled in and created a few scoring chances of our own. The second half was more of the same until a miss-kick on a clearance was deflected and bounced around the box when a W&J player jumped on it and put it away from about 10 yds. out. This would make the third 1-0 loss of the season.

Tuesday night we were back at home under the lights against CAC opponent Hood College. We started strong and created numerous opportunities. Jason King, who made his season debut against Marymount and has been limited in minutes due to injuries, scored his first goal of the season to give us the early 1-0 lead. Hood would equalize off a knock down on a free kick and the game would go to half all even. After a good half time talk the boys came out poised to put the game away. Dillon Muise notched is team leading third goal of the season and Greg Hill and Micah Bunting would record their first collegiate goals as Frostburg would go on to win 4-1.

Sophomore Shawn Baker

The win puts us at 1-0-1 in CAC play with the much anticipated Salisbury match coming up at home on Saturday at 2pm.

Positive Results Over the Weekend

After struggling to find the back of the net the first three games it was nice to get on the scoreboard and come away with two wins over the weekend.

Sophomore Dillon Muise's first two goals of the season came Friday night as he helped down Shenandoah University 2-0 at Bobcat Stadium. It wasn't our best soccer, but we were finally efficient in front of the goal and made the most of our opportunities. Again there were glimpses of some really good soccer, but we didn't do it consistently for 90 minutes.

We knew turning around and having to travel to Waynesburg on Saturday after the late 7:00 PM kick-off on Friday would present a bit of challenge for the boys, but once again they young guys responded when called upon. The injury bug is still a major concern as now starting and all-conference center back Jamie Flewellyn was unable to go due to an injury. The backline that started against Waynesburg was a totally new back four from the group that started the season.

We were able to control most of the game in the mid-field and put away two decent goals by Sophomore Shawn Baker and Freshman Michael Norman, but we probably should have had a third and put the game away. Instead Waynesburg was able to close the deficit to 2-1 with about 10 minutes to go and it became much more of a hectic final few minutes than it ever should have been.

Sophomores Dillon Muise and Shawn Baker

Capital Athletic Conference play begins at home on Wednesday against Marymount at 5:00 PM. This is an important game for us as we need to get off to a positive start in the conference and pick up some points before we begin play against some of the favorites.

Missed Opportunities Become Costly

Sophomore forward Dillon Muise

The Frostburg State Bobcats were punished for missed opportunities again this past weekend in the FSU Tournament.  We played Wilmington (OH) on Friday and saw an early chance against the Quakers come up empty.  We were able to get in behind Wilmington's back line in the opening minutes and had Shawn Baker one "v" one with the Quaker keeper, but Baker was taken down from behind by a Wilmington defender. The official, recognizing the foul, called the infringement, but neglected to expel the defender.  The ensuing free kick was saved and the half would end scoreless.

In the second half the Quakers took advantage of a well constructed free kick and went up one nil.  Much of the second half was played in the midfield, but the Quakers did have the better of the opportunities and put another goal away in the 89th minute as Frostburg pushed more players into the attack looking for the tying goal.

The consolation game would be against Eastern Mennonite University on Saturday afternoon.  Again, the offense did well to get in behind the back line, but squandered numerous chances in front of goal.  The Royals scored in the second half on a play that didn't start as much.  A floated cross into the box was flicked on by an EMU player beating senior keeper Stephen Cavallo to the ball and was the only goal in the game. 

Fatigue was surely an issue for us having played 3 games in 4 days.  Our fitness level is not wear it needs to be and the injuries are starting to mount.  Already down 3 starters from the Bethany match on Wednesday, starting left back Sergio Vargas picked up a knock and was unable to play on Saturday.  Many inexperienced players are seeing minutes on the pitch and have put forth a good effort.  Freshman, Jason Bennett has played solid on defense since replacing the injured Anthony Tossounian, and transfers Chris Coello and Greg Hill have contributed solid minutes to the Bobcat attack.  Although we haven't earned a "W" yet, the season is early and we have a lot of positives looking forward.  We are hoping to play  better this weekend and are hopeful that we can start to get healthy and fit for our conference opener next Wednesday against Marymount.

Bobcats Downed In Season Opener

The first game of the season for the Bobcats left a sour taste in the players' mouths.  Although playing well for almost 90 minutes of the encounter, we managed to lose the fixture.  The hot conditions of the late afternoon at Bison Stadium forced both sides to run players in and out of the lineup, and as the game wore on, it looked as if Frostburg was the deeper of the two teams.  It was a late free-kick, just outside the area, that did us in.  A driven shot which beat senior keeper Stephen Cavallo in the 88th minute was the only goal of the match.  However, we can take many positives from Bethany game to build on.  We lost two starters in the back line to injuries in the first half and the guys that stepped in played extremely well.  I thought the work rate and effort were there and that is something we can build on.

It was a fairly even game, but we did have our opportunities to score and put the game away before the Bison did.  Two posts, and two absolute sitters in front of goal were the main reason for loss which left the lads thinking "what could have been".  They must lift their heads, and take the positives to their home opener in the first game of the FSU tournament against Wilmington (tomorrow night under the lights 7:30 PM).  If we can clean up a few technical things and can put the same effort and work rate in I know we can get back on the winning side.

And So It Begins...

Students are on campus, classes are in session, and preseason is finally over... the 2010 soccer season is about to start.  Frostburg's season will commence this Wednesday (September 1st) at Bethany.  The season opener against the PAC (President's Athletic Conference) side which should prove to be a formidable opponent.  Last year Frostburg hosted Bethany and won 3-2.  The scoreline was a little flattering for the Bisons as the Bobcats squandered many chances in front of goal that game.

Considering the shift to the new conference and increased schedule quality, Frostburg will have to put in their best efforts on a game-to-game basis in order to be successful this year.  Knowing that a bulk of the line-up are new faces it will assure competition for spots throughout the season and with the return of cornerstone players such as defensive MVP Jamie Flewellyn (Junior), forwards Dillon Muise (Sophomore) and Shawn Baker (Sophomore), the side will have quality looking forward towards the season. The presence of Mike Bistany (Junior)  in the middle of the park also gives reason for the Bobcats to be able to compete with the best teams in the CAC (Capital Athletic Conference).  Bistany, alongside Cisco Diaz (Junior), and Danny Hutchins (Senior) were recently named captains for the 2010 season and will provide the leadership needed to succeed this year.

2010 Alumni Game

I would like to thank everyone that made it up for the Alumni game this past weekend.  It was a beautiful weekend of soccer and getting together with some old friends and new.  It was really good to have some of the "old guard" out there representing and showing the passion that they still have for the game.

The game came down to the wire as the Alumni snatched victory away from the varsity team when Adam Gracia found the back of the net with about one minute left on the clock and secured the 1-1 draw for the Alumni.  Brandon Rethemeyer was strong in goal and kept the shut out for about 80 minutes until Matt Parsons broke through the mid-field and sent freshman Chris Jones in on a 1v1 for the first goal of the game.

I would really like to thank some of the older guys like Benny Ilkanhoff, Noel Cyrus, Pete Tytus, Phil Sporer, Jim Eppard, JT and Mark Urban for making up it and participating in the game.  I know not everyone can stick around afterwards and get together, but it was great to hang out with JT and Mark and listen to them share some of their stories with the younger guys.

There was a strong number of recent alumni present and I would just like to say thanks for your continuous support of the program and let you all know that I really enjoy getting together with everyone afterwards and catching up on how everyone is doing.  I just hope that you guys will continue to make it back 10 years from now and share your stories with the current players and recent alumni.

First Day of Training

The 2010 season has officially begun with the first day of pre-season camp in the books.  34 players reported for tryouts and will compete to make the roster.  With only 14 players returning from last years team there are a lot of new faces out there.  We have two players who competed in our spring season and one returning from ACL surgery, but that still leaves 17 players getting their first taste of the college game.

Fitness will be a major focus of this pre-season as we hope to be one of the hardest working teams in the CAC this year.  There is a lot of talent in the CAC and because of are youth we hope to even the field a little by being one of the fittest teams out there. 

Tryouts will last for 3 days and will conclude with our scrimmage against Hagerstown CC this Saturday at 6:00 pm.  Former player and assistant coach Brandon Rethemeyer who is now the asst. coach at HCC has helped turn the program around and made HCC one of the better JUCO's in MD.  It should be a good evaluation game for us as HCC will have been in camp for almost two weeks and we'll be just getting started.

We will travel to Shepherd on Wednesday August 25th and conclude our pre-season scrimmages with the Alumni game on Saturday August 28th at 2:00 pm at Bobcat Stadium. 

We are looking forward to seeing everyone next Saturday...

Herford Signs with Crystal Palace Baltimore

Jay Herford has signed a contract to play with Crystal Palace Baltimore. Crystal Palace Baltimore competes in the first division of the United Soccer League.

Herford spent the 2009 season with the Harrisburg City Islanders which is a division two team in the USL. In 2009 the City Islanders posted a 12-9-4 record and advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup before being knocked out by D.C. United 2-1.

Herford, who will provide depth to the Crystal Palace net, was a two-year starter for the Bobcats, helping the team to a 26-14-2 overall record and a 12-4-1 AMCC mark in his last two years. In 2007, FSU advanced to the ECAC South Region Tournament Championship while in 2008, the Bobcats advanced to the ECAC Tournament Semifinals.

Herford, a two-time All-Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Goalkeeper, finished his senior season ranked second in the league in goals against average (0.77), third in goals allowed (15) and save percentage (0.797) while ninth in saves (59).

For more information about Crystal Palace Baltimore and their schedule please click here http://www.palacebaltimore.com/index.html

2009-2010 Athletics Awards Banquet

The Frostburg State Athletic Department held its annual awards banquet on Monday night.  Team awards were given out as well as several department wide awards.

(pictured L to R Scott Wasser, Steve Jacobsen, Jamie Flewellyn, Alex Super)

The men's soccer team announced the following winners:

Team MVP - Sean Jones (Sr/Severna Park):  Sean was a three time captain and two time first team All-AMCC award winner.  He led the team in assists his junior and senior seasons.

Offensive MVP - Ricky Marchant (Sr/Walter Johnson):  Ricky was a first team All-AMCC recipient and was tied for the team lead in goals with seven. 

Defensive MVP - Jamie Flewellyn (So/Broadneck): Jamie was a first team All-AMCC recipient and led the Bobcat defense with his aggressive ball winning and athleticisim.

Gilbert Gray Memorial Award - Scott Wasser (So/Heritage):  The Gilbert Gray Award is for the player who exemplifies the desire for excellence in his intellectual, physical, and spiritual selves and his relationship to mankind.

Bobcat Award - Alex Super (Sr/St. Mary's): The Bobcat award is for the player the who exemplifies what it means to be a Bobcat through his work ethic, attitude, and commitment to the team.

Senior Steve Jacobsen also took home the Male Breakthrough Athlete of the Year Award.  Steve played multiple positions his first three years and only started 17 games total.  In his senior year he became a starting striker and ended up leading the team in points (17) and tied for the team lead in goals (7).

2010 Kickin Diabetes

The 2010 “Kickin Diabetes” Tournament was held this past weekend in Cumberland, MD. This has become an annual event run by the Cumberland YMCA and supported by the Frostburg State Men’s soccer team. The event rose close to $900 this year and all donations will be made to the American Diabetes Association through the YMCA.

Congratulations to the FSU Alumni team for winning the tournament. They won all their games in round robin play and finished with the most points on the day. Team members included; Adam Gracia, Brandon Rethemeyer, Dan Simpson, Justin Ports, Greg Bistany, Gregg Laskow, Trevor Havey, Claudio Dias and Bryn Varhol.

Special thanks go out to Alumnus Robert Wise for organizing the event through the YMCA and referees; Joe Enright, Phil Van Newkirk, and Brett Showalter for donating their time to this charity event. Thanks to all the teams that participated in making this a great day of soccer!!

Relay For Life Success

The Men's Soccer team participated in the annual Relay for Life event held on FSU's campus this past weekend.  It is a year long fundraiser that students, faculty and staff particiapte in helping to raise money for the American Cancer Society.  Over 1,000 faculty, staff, and students particiapted in this event and helped raise over $42,000 for the American Cancer Society.

Members of the men's and women's soccer team pose for a photo during the event.

Men's Soccer announces 2010 schedule

The Frostburg State men's soccer team has released its 2010 fall schedule that features eight homes games, including the FSU Tournament in early September and five opponents who participated in post-season play in 2009. The fall season also marks the first year of play in the Capital Athletic Conference for the Bobcats.

We open our season on the road against Bethany on Sept. 1 at 4:30 pm. It's the second-straight year that the FSU-Bethany matchup will be the season opener for both teams. Last season we had to come from behind to post a 3-2 win.

We then begin a small home stand as we host the FSU Kick-off Tournament for the fourth time in the last five years. We will play Wilmington (OH) in the first round on Friday, Sept. 3 at 7:30 pm under the lights at Bobcat Stadium. The opening game of the tournament features Allgheny (PA) and Easten Mennonite (VA) at 5:00 pm. Both the consolation and championship games of the tournament are slated for the following day at 1:30 and 3:30 pm, respectively.

After hosting Shenandoah on Friday, Sept. 10 at 7:00 pm we will then travel to Waynesburg the next day for a 2:00 pm start.

Capital Athletic Conference play will begin on Wed., Sept. 15 when we host Marymount at 5:00 pm. After a trip to Washington & Jefferson on Sept. 18, we host back-to-back CAC opponents; Hood on Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 7:00 pm for the third night game of the season and 2009 CAC Tournament Champion and NCAA tournament participant Salisbury will visit Bobcat Stadium at 2:00 pm on Sat., Sept. 25.

We will end our season with six road games out of the final eight contests. We travel to Lycoming on Tuesday, Sept. 28 and NCAA tournament participant York on Oct. 2 for their Homecoming game.

We are back at home for St. Vincent on Oct. 6 at 7:00 pm for our fourth night game of the season, then we hit the road for a pair of road games against Mary Washington (Oct. 9 - 2:00 pm) and St. Mary's (Oct. 16 - 3:00 pm).

We cap off regular season with a tough stretch against three 2009 ECAC Tournament participants. We travel to Penn State Altoona on Oct. 19 at 7:00 pm, host Wesley on Oct. 23 at 2:00 pm and end the regular season on Sat. Oct. 27 at Stevenson at 3:00 pm.

The CAC Tournament first round starts on Oct. 31 and ends with the championship on Nov. 6.

The Frostburg men's soccer team has finished with 12 or more wins in each of the last three years while making ECAC Tournament appeances in two of the past three seasons.

We are very excited about beginning play in the CAC and look forward to the great competition that the conference offers along with a very competitive non-conference schedule.