Three Bobcats Earn All-CAC Honors

Frostburg State junior forward Ryan Russell (Waldorf, Md./College of Southern Maryland) earned first-team honors and was picked by the coaches as the 2011 CAC Player of the Year.  Russell led the Bobcats and CAC in goals with 16 and finished with 34 points.  Ryan had a streak of scoring in 8 straight games and tallied in 13 of 18 games.  Ryan finished 12th in the nation in goals per game.

FSU’s Russell was joined by senior defender Jamie Flewellyn (Arnold, Md./Broadneck) as a first-team selection.  Jamie anchored a defense that gave up less than a goal a game at 0.94 and he aslo had his best offensive season as he recorded 3 goals and 1 assist from his center back position. 

Junior midfielder Shawn Baker (Jefferson, Md./Brunswick) was a second-team honoree and was second on the team in points behind Russell.  After starting the season as a center midfielder Shawn was moved up to forward and scored in three of the last five games.






2011 All-CAC Men’s Soccer Team
2011 CAC Player of the Year: Ryan Russell, Frostburg State
2011 CAC Rookie of the Year: Yianni Sarioglou, Stevenson
2011 CAC Coach of the Year: Keith Byrnes, Frostburg State

First Team Yr. Pos. Team Hometown/High School
Antonio Bua Jr. For   York   Lancaster, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg
Joshua Chelleh Jr. For   Wesley   Columbia, Md./Long Reach
Ryan Russell Jr. For   Frostburg State   Waldorf, Md./College of So. Md.
Trevor Sharpe So. For   Salisbury   Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West
Jimmy Mundy Jr. Mid   Salisbury   Ellicott City, Md./Centennial
Bram Sims Sr. Mid   Mary Washington   Boston, Va./Culpeper
Cody Pearson Jr. Mid   York   Crofton, Md./DeMatha Catholic
Larry Cornish So. Def   Salisbury   Salisbury, Md./Parkside
Jamie Flewellyn Sr. Def   Frostburg State   Arnold, Md./Broadneck
Nick Scarpato Sr. Def   Wesley   Washington Twp., N.J./Wash. Twp.
Aaron Beale So. Def   York   Baltimore, Md./Archbishop Curley
John Vnenchak Jr. GK   Salisbury   Flanders, N.J./Gill Saint Bernards

Second Team Yr. Pos. Team Hometown/High School
Kjell Crooke Sr. For   Marymount   Vienna, Va./James Madison
Mike Gill Sr. For   York   Baltimore, Md./Archbishop Spalding
Marcus Greene So. For   Stevenson   Rosedale, Md./Overlea
Shawn Baker Jr. Mid   Frostburg State   Jefferson, Md./Brunswick
Tommy Krug Fr. Mid   St. Mary’s   Columbia, Md./River Hill
Kyle Long Sr. Mid   Wesley   Delaware, Ohio/Buckeye
Brian Payne Sr. Mid   St. Mary’s   Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall
Matt Grady Sr. Def   St. Mary’s   Rockyville, Md./Walter Johnson
David Heller So. Def   Mary Washington   Alexandria, Va./Mount Vernon
Chase Humphrey So. Def   Salisbury   Ocean City, Md./Worcester Prep
Ethan Kavanagh Sr. GK   York   Woodstown, N.J./Woodstown
Will Lane Jr. GK   Hood   Walkersville, Md./Walkersville

Bobcats Fall in Penalty Kicks

Senior Jamie Flewellyn

The 2011 season came to an end last night in Swarthmore, PA. We finished the season with yet another tie and got knocked out of the ECAC Tournament on penalty kicks.

I thought it was a very good match with two quality teams. Swarthmore came into the game 11-5-0 and was ranked #8 in the Mid-Atlantic Region. They are a very talented team and were actually ranked in the top 10 Nationally for the month of September.

Swarthmore got on the board in the 25th minute and carried the play for the beginning of the half. The guys responded very well and finished the half strong and continued to play well into the second half. Both teams had a few chances turned away by the keepers until Jamie Flewellyn tied the game on a nicely placed shot just inside the box.

Both overtimes were tightly contested with only a total of 5 shots recorded. Unfortunately, there has to be a winner in the playoffs and penalty kicks are the answer. We would miss our first attempt and could never catch up. Swarthmore hit their first 4 shots and won the shootout after their keeper made a really nice save on our fourth shooter.

Our final record is 11-3-5 and we remained ranked as the #10 team in the South Atlantic Region. I was really proud of the team’s performance last night against a quality opponent and was glad that we walked off the field without any regrets.

FSU Earns #5 Seed in ECAC Tournament

Our season continues as we were selected to the ECAC South Tournament as the #5 seed. I think we were slighted a little with the seeding, but that’s how it goes sometimes and you just have to show up and win the games in front of you.


We will be traveling to the #4 seed Swarthmore College for a 5:00 pm game on Wednesday evening. The last time we faced Swarthmore was in the ECAC Championship game in 2007. Swarthmore would win the game 3-2 in overtime to claim the ECAC South Championship.

The boys are excited to play in the post-season with a chance to end their season with a win and an ECAC Championship. I hope the late season injuries are not too much for us to overcome. We will have 8 guys who will not be dressing tomorrow and leading scorer Ryan Russell has been limited in training since re-injuring a groin problem in the Salisbury game.

2011 ECAC Division III South Men’s Soccer Championship


First Round – Wednesday, November 9th

No. 8 Wesley College (8-6-5) at No. 1 Alvernia University (15-4-1), 7:30 p.m.
No. 7 Grove City College (12-5-1) at No. 2 Medaille College (17-3-1), 7:00 p.m.
No. 6 Lebanon Valley College (12-8) at No. 3 Marywood University (13-5), 4:00 p.m.
No. 5 Frostburg State University (11-3-4) at No. 4 Swarthmore College (11-6), 5:00 p.m.

Semifinals – Saturday November 12th at highest remaining seed

No. 1/No. 8 winner vs. No. 4/No. 5 winner, TBD
No. 2/No. 7 winner vs. No. 3/No. 6 winner, TBD

Championship – Sunday, November 13th

Conference Playoff Run Ends

Last Wednesday our dreams of going from worst to first came to an end as we lost the CAC semi-final 3-0 to Salisbury.

Salisbury came out ready to play and we didn't. They dictated the play from the start and it never looked like we were on the same level with them. They pressured us early and often and by the 17th minute we were down 2 goals. They finished the half with a 12-1 advantage in shots.

The second half we played better and out shot them 11-7, but it was too little too late. We had a few good opportunities that were saved our just missed the goal, but we could never get the goal to get us back into the game like we did the first time we played them. Salisbury would score with 45 seconds left as we pushed forward to solidify the win and a trip the CAC finals.

It's disappointing to lose in the semi-finals, but considering we came from just one win in CAC play last season I think this was very successful season. As long as we can continue to improve and recruit players that can significantly impact our program than we can continue to close the gap on York and Salisbury.

We now wait for the ECAC bids to come out this afternoon. Hopefully our record is strong enough to receive a top 4 seed which will mean a home game on Wednesday.

Bobcats Advance Despite Nor'easter

FSU Girl's on field Saturday afternoon

With much of the East Coast under snow due to the very rare October Nor'easter there was still playoff soccer to be played.  Both York and Frostburg pushed back their playoff matches to Sunday to avoid playing in the freak snow storm.

The maintenance crew would get to work on Saturday evening and the coaching staff along with some FSU administrators would finish off the work Sunday morning to make sure the facility was safe and ready for playoff soccer on Sunday afternoon.  Kick-off times were pushed back to give the field ample time to be cleared.  The women would host St. Mary's in #3 vs. #6 match at 4:00pm and the men would take on Wesley in the #4 vs. #5 match at 6:00pm.

FSU mens coaching staff after snow removal
on Sunday morning

With the women's game going into a shoot-out the men would not kick off until 6:45pm as temperatures would dip into the low 30's.  Frostburg would come out hot and begin pressuring Wesley from the opening whistle.  We had several good chances saved by the Wesley keeper, but would out shoot Wesley 12-5 for the half.

I was real pleased with our play both offensively and defensively.  In the first game I thought we allowed them to dictate the play too much and today I thought we did a much better job of controlling the tempo.  The second half was much of the same as we out shot them 10-3, but this time we would get the early goal to take the lead.  In the 52nd minute Bryan Whitmore would slip a nice through ball into Ryan Russell who would beat the keeper low and to the left for his conference leading 16th goal of the season.  Wesley was the only CAC team to shut Russell out during conference play so he was really looking to put one away against them.  Shawn Baker who has now scored in three of the last five games put the game away as Wesley was pushing forward in the 87th minute.

I thought Wesley was a very good team the first time we played them and tied, so I was very pleased with our play on the day and the 2-0 outcome.

The team will be back at training today and we will hit the road tomorrow to travel to #1 seed Salisbury.  The game is scheduled for 2:30pm on Wednesday 11/2/11.

Stadium at 11:00am Sunday

Bobcats Earn Home Playoff Game



On Wednesday evening in Alexandria, VA the Frostburg State men's soccer team completed its 2011 regular season with a 3-0 win over Marymount University.
The game started out a little shaky I thought. I don't know if it was the long bus ride or the pressure of needing a win to claim the #4 seed in the playoffs, but we did not get off ot the start we were hopoing for. Marymount was out possessing us and we were turning the ball over to easily. Fortunately, Ryan Russell did what he's done all year and made the most of his early chances.

Six minutes into the game Ryan found the net off a nice feed from Shawn Baker on our first shot of the match. Seven minutes later Ryan would strike a free kick that would beat the wall and the goalkeeper from about 25 yds. out.

We switched formations in the second half and played much better. We were able to posses the ball and limit the chances that Marymount was generating in the first half. Shawn Baker would score his second goal of the season off a feed from Russell 15 minutes into the half to put the game away.

With the win we clinched the #4 seed and a home playoff game on Saturday afternoon. The game is scheduled for 2pm and the opponent will be either Wesley or Stevenson. The winner will advance to face Salisbury on Tuesday.

It feels to good to finish the season 10-2-4 and the #4 seed in the CAC playoffs. We accomplished a lot of the goals we set for this team at the beginning of the year. If we can limit our mistakes and take care of the ball in the attacking third I think we can compete with any of the top seeds in the conference and make a run towards the CAC championship game.

York Spoils Senior Day

Seniors: Cisco Diaz, Jamie Flewellyn, Mike Hurst, and Anthony Tossounian

Saturday afternoon was Homecoming and Senior Day for the Bobcats.  Three seniors; Jamie Flewellyn, Cisco Diaz, and Anthony Tossounian would play their final regualr season home game while fellow senior Michael Hurst would accompany his teammates onto the field for introductions, but would be unable to particiapte due to a season ending injury.

York College would spoil senior day by defeating us 3-1.  I don't think we played our best soccer, but I do the think the better team won the game.  We did not take care of the ball and we made some mistakes that a good team like York will make you pay for.

York got on the board early off a nice cross from the left that beat two defenders and found an oncoming York player who one-timed it by the keeper.  One minute later, Ryan Russell would tie the score up off a feed from Jared Fohs on a simialr style goal.  York would take the 2-1 halftime lead off a nicely hit shot from about 30 yds. out that beat the keeper.

The second half was tightly contested, but York would get the insurance goal when it kicked home the rebound off a missed clearance from a long free kick.  The York keeper was called on to keep the game in check when he stopperd a Ryan Russell break away late in the game and made a point blank save off a well hit header by Shawn Baker.

The loss drops us ot 9-2-4 on the season.  We have clinched a playoff berth, but need to win on Tuesday against Marymount to get the #4 seed and a home playoff game on Saturday.

York goal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MPhGHOGWSc

Bobcats Slip by Stevenson

Junior Yacob Kahsai

Sophomore Bryan Whitmore

Last Wednesday on another rain filled afternoon the Bobcats defeated Stevenson by a score of 2-1. This one was important for the guys because last year we ended our season at Stevenson with a dismal performance and got embarrassed by a score of 4-1.


We started the game off strong and put immediate pressure on Stevenson’s backline. Sophomore Bryan Whitmore hit a hard shot at the keeper that was dipping and with the rainy conditions couldn't hold on and we would take the 1-0 lead.

The second half started off strong as well and after Scott Wasser controlled a long throw in inside the box he found Yacob Kahsai for an easy tap in at the back post to go up 2-0. Stevenson would respond shortly after and would make it a pretty hectic final 20 minutes. I thought we sat in too much and defended instead of trying to attack and maintain possession and we gave them too many opportunities to launch balls into our box. The defense would hold up and we would be happy with the 2-1 win at home against a good Stevenson team.

Next up is Homecoming Weekend where we will take on defending CAC champion, York College. York has been on a bit if a roll lately and if we can knock them off we should put ourselves in very good position heading into the playoffs.

Offense Continues to get Back on Track

Junior Shawn Baker

Three different players scored on the road Saturday against CAC opponent Hood College in a 3-1 victory. Junior Shawn Baker registered his first goal of the season and Chris Jones and Ryan Russell would finish out the scoring.

I was really happy for Shawn to finally get on track, especially since he was playing in his hometown and had lot of family and friends at the game. Shawn was one of our leading scorers last season, but has been asked to play a different role this year and has adapted very well to doing what the team needs from him.

The defense played strong again, but did surrender an own goal in the beginning of the second half to help put Hood on the board. We will need to get back to playing solid defense for 90 minutes and not let teams take advantage of our mental mistakes if we are going to make a late run here for the playoffs.

The injury bug may have started to catch up with us as we went into the Hood game with five players not suiting up and lost two more starters during the game. We are hopeful to get one or two back for the Stevenson game on Wednesday, but Ryan Russell and Damian Ramos will definitely be out at least until Saturday.

With three games left all nine teams still have a mathematical shot at making the playoffs, so these next couple of games will go a long way to start sorting out the seeding. We are home on Wednesday at 3:30pm against Stevenson and on Saturday for Homecoming against York at 5:00pm.

Bobcats Finish Non-Conference Schedule Undefeated

In our final non-conference game of the year we defeated the Presidents of Washington and Jefferson College 3-1. It was a bit of redemption as we lost to the Presidents last year 1-0.

Junior Brian Kukucka

Freshman Ed Flynn

Being that it was our last non-conference game we took the opportunity to tweak the formation a little and get some reserve players some more playing time. Junior transfer (HCC) Brian Kukucka earned his first start in goal and kept the clean sheet for the first half. Freshman keeper Ed Flynn logged his first minutes of the season in the second half and was 5 minutes away from keeping W&J off the board and earning a shutout for his half.

The offense got back on track as forwards Ryan Russell and Yacob Kahsai caused some matchup problems for the President defense. Russell recorded his 10th and 11th goals of the season to secure the win and sophomore Michael Norman registered his first goal of the season to complete the scoring. The first goal came off of a great penetrating pass from Yacob to Ryan. Ryan would beat the W&J defense and would beat the keeper with a terrific shot. Ryan's marksmanship was on display again as he scored on his 4th free kick in the last 5 games. Norman would make it 3-0 off a great through ball from sophomore Raphael Adejoda.  The Presidents would get on the board in the 85th minute to round out the scoring.

W&J Goals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsM3PpWtlBE

The win concludes an undefeated non-conference schedule with a 6-0-2 record including 3 victories coming over teams that defeated us the season before. The season will conclude with 4 CAC games with everything at stake. Playoff seedings are still wide open and several teams have the opportunity to advance their position over the next two weeks. Saturday we will be on the road at Hood College who has only given up 3 goals in conference play.

Road Trip Ends in Two Draws

Junior Keeper Abiye Jack

Last week we were on the road for a pair of games at McDaniel College and Wesley College. Both games would end up in 1-1 draws and we would have to come from behind again to tie each match.

I don't think we played particularly well against McDaniel and even though we outshot them 10-4 in the first half we found ourselves down 1-0 at halftime. I never thought we were that dangerous in the attacking third and a lot of our shots were from long distance and never really threatened the keeper. In fact, of our 25 shots for the match only 4 were on frame.

Ryan Russell, who was off his game a little today, would salvage the tie with another free kick late in the second half. The goal was Ryan's only shot on frame, but he made it count as he registered his team leading ninth goal of the season.

On Saturday we would travel to Wesley College for an important CAC match up. Wesley would enter the match undefeated in conference play with a 1-0-3 record. The game was very competitive and played at pretty frenettic pace. Wesley would take the lead late in the first half when we failed to clear a corner kick in the back of the box and a Wesley player would pick up the rebound and place a nice shot on frame for the 1-0 lead.

The boys came out flying to start the second half and put Wesley under pressure immediately. One minute into the second half Chris Jones would get his head on the ball off a corner kick and directed it back on frame. The keeper who was at full stretch was unable to tip the ball over and helped direct the ball into the back of the net.

Goalkeeper Abiye Jack had his best performance yet as he recorded 8 saves and had 2 huge saves that kept us in the game.  Next up is a our last non-conference game agaist Washington and Jefferson College on Wednesday at 7:00pm.

Bobcats Come From Behind to Tie Mary Washington

Sophomore Chris Jones

On a cold, rainy day in Frostburg the Bobcats would have to come from behind against CAC opponent Mary Washington to earn the draw.

The game started out fairly even and would go to the half tied up 0-0. Neither team produced many scoring opportunities and it seemed to be a battle in the midfield. In the second half I thought we did a much better job of pressuring and creating opportunities off of our defense. We continued to attack the Mary Washington goal, but could not find the back of the net. We outshot them 13-2 in the 2nd half, but a few nice saves by the goalkeeper and a few missed opportunities would keep us off the scoreboard. We would even miss a penalty kick midway through and would pay for it when a Mary Washington player kicked home a poor clearance off a long free kick to give them the 1-0 advantage.

Late in the game Ryan Russell would get the equalizer when he sent a free kick of his own over the wall and into the back of the net. We had a few more chances in overtime, but again the Mary Washington keeper was up to the challenge. He would finish the game with 11 saves.

I think we let one get away from us as we had the opportunities to score some goals, but just couldn't get it down today. I thought midfielders Chris Jones, Bryan Whitmore, and Yacob Kahsai had an excellent game especially in the second half. Their pressure and ball winning in the middle of the field created several counter attack opportunities for us and really turned the game in our advantage in the second half.

Sophomore Bryan Whitmore

Next week we will be on the road for two games as we travel for a non-conference match up against McDaniel College on Wednesday and on Saturday we are off to currently undefeated CAC play Wesley College.

Mary Washington Goal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6ll7DQrzfU

Bobcats Blank Lycoming

Junior Defender Cody Buts

The team rebounded from the tough weekend loss with a 2-0 win over Lycoming College. Ryan Russell continued his hot streak tallying two more goals bringing his scoring streak to five consecutive games.

Senior Defender Jamie Flewellyn

It wasn't the prettiest soccer, but it was a shutout at home which is always nice to have. Russell would score on a nicely placed free kick midway through the first half and would put the game away with about 10 minutes to go in the second half.

Yacob Kahsai did a nice job of winning the ball back from a Lycoming defender and sent Ryan in on the backline. Ryan made a nice move to beat two defenders and then beat the keeper with a nicely placed ball towards the side netting.

Lycoming Goals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh-24XaBm2I

Sophomore Defender Jard Fohs

Freshman Defender Mitchell Muise

The shutout was our team's fourth in eight games and we have only given up six goals in those eight games. Junior goalkeeper Abiye Jack has been impressive in goal and the backline has been very solid. Anchoring the backline is senior captain Jamie Flewellyn who has made a strong partnership with freshman center back Mitchell Muise. Junior transfer Cody Butts has been very consistent on the right side while senior Anthony Tossounian and sophomore transfer Jared Fohs have shared the duties at left back.

Senior Defender Anthony Tossounian

Next up is CAC opponent Mary Washington on Saturday. UMW is currently in first place with a 2-0 record in conference play.

Junior GK Abiye Jack





 





Bobcats Suffer First Defeat

Senior Jamie Flewellyn

Saturday afternoon was a true test of how far this team has come as we took on the #25 nationally ranked Seagulls of Salisbury on the road.

The game would not start out the way we wanted. Two early free kicks would give Salisbury a 2-0 lead just 16 minutes into the contest. This is where the team could have folded and packed it in, but instead they responded to their first true test of adversity and would answer back with two goals just four minutes a part to tie the match at 2-2.

Senior captain Jamie Flewellyn would get us on the board first as he would slide in the box to knock home the rebound off a deflected free kick. Minutes later Damian Ramos would send a ball into the box that was not cleared away enough and Ryan Russell would one time a shot into the back of the net for his team leading 5th goal of the season and his fourth in four games.

I was really impressed the way the team responded to being down two goals on the road and fought to get us back in the game before the half. The second half started out promising as we won the ball and got right on the attack and earned a corner. Unfortunately on the ensuing corner a FSU player would lose his cool and would be red carded for a retaliation foul while getting up from the ground.

The boys would respond again and they gave it all they had fighting to stay in the game despite being down a man for 44 minutes of play. We would absorb a good deal of the Salisbury attack and look for our chances to counter, but Salisbury would get the game winning goal 12 minutes into the half. We did our best to attack when the opportunities were there and we had some chances to pull the game back, but Salisbury is a very good team and they were able to keep us off the board in the second half.

Salisbury Goals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xQiWwROC4c

We will back at home this week for a non-conference game against Lycoming on Wednesday and pretty big CAC match-up against Mary Washington on Saturday. Right now Mary Washington is the only 2-0 team in the conference.

Bobcats Defeat Former AMCC Rival

Sophomore Jason Bennett

Last Tuesday we had our first away match of the season against Penn St. Altoona. One of our goals this year was to do better on the road, so it was nice to get off to an early start.

Ryan Russell would net his 4th goal of the season in the 7th minute of the game after pressuring the Altoona defender into a mistake and chipping the goalkeeper from about 20 yards out. Jason Bennett would score10 minutes later to give us the 2-0 lead.

Altoona Goals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASjx9asdgNk


That was all the Bobcats would need as the defense would hold Altoona to just one shot for the match.

The win pushes our record to 5-0-1, which is the best start since the 1991 team won it's first 15 games on its way to 17-2-1 record. The team also earned recognition by being ranked the #9 team in the South Atlantic Region at the beginning of the week.

Bobcats Take Conference Opener

Sophomore, Damian Ramos

The boys were pumped to be taking on St. Mary's, who was ranked 4th in the region, in the conference home opener. After failing to qualify for the CAC playoffs last year we were hoping to prove to ourselves and others that we were a team that would be there in the end this year.


The energy and attitudes were very high due to the early season success. We would take the lead 32 minutes into the contest when Damian Ramos' shot was helped in by a St. Mary's defender. Just 10 minutes into the second half Scott Wasser would drill home an upper 90 shot from just inside the box to give us the 2-0 lead.

St. Mary's goal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfQBHcdZq7s
St. Mary's goal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtKCFRigxyY

St. Mary's would press in the final minutes and would capitalize on a poor clearance in the 86th minute, but Ryan Russell would respond with his third goal of the season to put the game away with 32 seconds remaining.

St. Mary's goal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nCBpGVBR0Y

Junior, Ryan Russell

Overall it was a very competitive game by two quality teams, but I think we had a few more scoring opportunities and were more efficient in front of the goal on the day. The first road test of the season will be Tuesday as we head to former AMCC rival Penn St. Altoona followed by a road trip to Salisbury for a true test of where we stand this season.

Bobcats Continue Strong Start

Junior, Ryan Russell

After winning the FSU Tournament we have continued our winning ways with two more home victories against Bethany 2-1 and Waynesburg 1-0, putting our current record at 3-0-1.

The Bethany game was played in a torrential down pour, but despite the poor conditions the level of play was reasonably well. Chris Jones would net his first goal of the season midway through the first half to give us the 1-0 lead heading into halftime.

We seemed to be controlling the play and thought we had put the game away when Alex Brainard was taken down in the box on a breakaway and Jamie Flewellyn would score the ensuing penalty kick to give us the 2-0 lead. We did not do a very good job of seeing the game out being up 2 goals and a man due to a red card on the breakaway foul. Bethany would continue to push and were rewarded with a penalty kick of their own late in the second half to make it a 2-1 game.

Bethany goals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhpcKonXwvI

We had a much better performance in the Waynesburg game. The score was only 1-0, but we controlled the play and were never really threatened as we outshot the yellow jackets 19-3. Ryan Russell scored his second goal of the season late in the first half on a nice finish from long distance. The team is starting to play with confidence and I really like our style of play right now.

Waynesburg goal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R0GWJjbzGk

Sophomore, Chris Jones

3-0-1 is a great start to the season as we get ready for our conference opener this weekend against St. Mary's.

Positive Start to the Season

Freshman, Joe Clarke

The Frostburg State men's soccer team started the 2011 campaign on a positive note by winning the FSU Kick-off Tournament over Labor Day Weekend.

On Friday night, Freshman Joe Clarke got his college career started in a hurry as he tallied his first collegiate goal just 41 seconds into the contest. Clarke would net his second goal in the 12th minute of the game. Junior transfer, from the College of Southern MD, Ryan Russell would make it 3-0 in the 31st minute. John Jay College (NY) would tally before the half to make it 3-1.

The Bobcats put up 11 more shots in the second half, but would only register one more goal from junior Scott Wasser.

FSU would take on Averett College (VA) in the Championship match on Saturday. This was a much more evenly contested game and with very humid and hot weather conditions, both teams would call upon their depth to see the game out. Frostburg held a slight 7-5 edge in shots in regulation, but could not find the back of the net. The game would go to overtime and end 0-0 with FSU getting off 3 more shots in the overtime period.

A penalty kick contest was used to declare a tournament champion. Junior goalkeeper Abiye Jack came up big for the Bobcats as he made 2 saves and saw another go wide. The Bobcats would claim the tournament championship with a 3-2 shootout victory.

Junior, Scott Wasser

Overall it was a positive start to the season for the Bobcats, last year FSU dropped both games of the FSU tournament. The Red and Black are back in action on Tuesday night at 7pm at Bobcat Stadium against Bethany (WV).

1st goal vs. John Jay, Clarke     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR5ul1DB7jo

2nd Goal vs. John Jay, Clarke   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xLd0fmMjfA

3rd Goal vs. John Jay, Russell    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGH3-VHm17s

4th goal vs. John Jay, Wasser    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drI37PjUMOE

2011 Alumni Game

I'd like to thank all of those that made it out for the Alumni game this year. Despite a brief scare from Hurricane Irene we got the game in without any weather issues and the Alumni earned a hard-fought 1-1 draw. 

With a limited bench and 5 goalkeepers on the roster the Alumni used every bit of energy they had.  They would take a 1-0 lead when Jay Herford followed up a Steve Jacobsen shot and put home the rebound.

Bryn Varhol was called upon to make the best save of the game as he turned away a Scott Wasser shot that had upper 90 written all over it early in the second half.

Frehsman Joe Clarke would get FSU on the board late in the game to tie the score at 1-1.

It was great to see those that made it up and hopefully next year the guys that had to take a year off can make it back up to the Burgh...

UK Summer Tour 2011

The team is back from England and Scotland and will have a much needed 7 days of rest before checking in for pre-season.

Overall the boys had a great experience. While in Manchester we played 2 games, toured Old Trafford, went to an Everton game, took a day trip to Chester, and spent one afternoon at the very impressive Trafford Center (mall). The days were quite full as we would typically have a morning session, afternoon meal and sightseeing and then an evening game.

In Scotland, we stayed at quaint little town called Bridge of Allan right outside the city of Stirling. While in Scotland we toured Celtic Park, visited Edinburgh, toured the city of Stirling including the castle and the William Wallace Monument, and had a Scottish Football Association Coach run a training session for us. We only played 1 match because the second had to be canceled due to heavy rain.

Unfortunately, we didn't win any games this time around, but we actually saw some very good things from our play and thought that we could carry them over to our season. The team had a blast and really enjoyed the culture and atmosphere surrounding the trip.

 

 

2011 Kickin Diabetes Tournament

FSU Players and Alumni

Saturday, May 7th was the annual Kickin Diabetes Tournament held at the Cumberland YMCA. It has become a Frostburg tradition for the current players and alumni to get together for a great day of soccer, friends, and supporting a good cause.

I would like to thank the YMCA and alumnus Rob Wise for hosting the event and allowing us to co-sponsor and support this great cause. Special thanks also go out to the referees who volunteer their time to so we can donate as much as possible to the American Diabetes Association.

Congratulations to the Frostburg State Alumni team for winning the event and defending their Championship. The Alumni would face the current FSU players in the final and would prove that their earlier loss to FSU in bracket play was just a fluke. Playing for the Alumni were Bryn Varhol, Trevor Havey, Danny Simpson, Adam Gracia, Brandon Rethemeyer, Greg Bistany, Nate Kish, Claudio Dias, and Heath Hastings.

Hopefully next year we can get a few more Alumni teams entered and can make it any even bigger event. Thanks again to the YMCA, Rob, the referees and the 2011 participants including Hagerstown Community College and a few local club teams for making this a great event.



Spring Season Coming to a Close

It's been almost six months since the last Bobcat soccer posting so I wanted to give everyone an update on the team's progress as our spring season comes to an end this weekend.


I think we had a very solid winter season with the team participating in a 3-day a week training regiment consisting of: lifting, ply-metrics, and speed sessions conducted by our Strength and Conditioning staff. We saw a noticeable amount of improvement in some of the younger players as we began our spring practices in April.

We will finish up our spring season this weekend with a scrimmage against Division II, Davis and Elkins College from West Virginia. Spring practices have been highly competitive with the addition of a few mid-semester transfers and a handful of spring walk-ons. The atmosphere around the team is very positive and the excitement for next season is already building.

We have eight committed players already that will make us a more talented team than we had last year. We are still working on a few other players that if they decide to attend FSU can take this class from being a very strong class to being one of the best classes we have had here in my tenure at FSU. The commitment to improving on last season’s performance is evident and the competitive fire is burning in everyone as they know the young talent coming in is looking to make an immediate impact.

The weekend of May 7th many of the players will be participating in our annual Kickin’ Diabetes Tournament down at the Cumberland YMCA. It's been a FSU tradition now for the last 5 years and is always a lot of fun and a great time for some of the Alumni to come back and show their stuff. The Alumni won the tournament last year and will be looking to defend their title.

A majority of the players will be training hard this summer as they prepare themselves for the England/Scotland trip in August. This great experience will be the teams third trip abroad to Europe in the last 9 years. The team will participate in 4 matches against English and Scottish competition and will have the opportunity to tour Old Trafford and Celtic Park as well as take in an English Premier League game.  The trip will finish up early in August and give the guys a chance to rest up for a week or so before reporting to camp for pre-season.