FSU Men's Soccer Season Preview

FROSTBURG, Md. – The graduation of 13 seniors and the loss of 17 total players from one year to the next would normally signal a rebuilding year. However, that is not the case for 13^th year head coach Keith Byrnes and he believes his 2014 Frostburg State men's soccer team will still be able to compete with anyone in the Capital Athletic Conference.

"Our goal is to finish in the top-six in the league and earn a spot in the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament," mentioned Byrnes, "I think qualifying for the playoffs should always be one of our goals."

That goal does come with some challenges for Byrnes as he welcomes back just four upperclassmen from the 2013 season.

"We have a long way to go with the lineup because of the number of young players we have on the team," added Byrnes. "As the year progresses, I feel we will be in a position to compete with anyone in the conference."

Senior Joe Clarke

Unlike a year ago when the Bobcats featured 13 seniors, this year's roster boasts 16 freshmen and sophomores and a handful of juniors that are appearing on the roster for the first time.

"We are looking at this season as a fresh start because of the number of new players and it has allowed us to implement a new style of play," said Byrnes. "We will be more of a possession oriented team that will play to our strengths, which will be our technical ability and our combination play."

"Last year, we played a different style with our bigger and faster forwards," mentioned Byrnes. "Our returning players this season have done a nice job early on in promoting the new changes. They have taken the team on their shoulders and have helped the younger guys buy into our style of play."

Leading the charge for the Bobcats will be the return of seniors Joe Clarke, Bryan Lentine and Bryan Whitmore, along with junior Mitchell Muise.

"The four have really stepped up and become vocal leaders on the team," said Byrnes. "They have been very positive and provided a great base in which to build from."

Clarke made four starts and played in 16 games as a junior in the midfield. He is the team's returning scoring leader from a year ago after finding the net twice and handing out one assist. This fall, he will switch to the defense and will join Muise in providing a solid back line.

Muise returns as the Bobcats' top defender. He appeared in eight games last fall and helped the Frostburg defensive unit post a 1.34 goals against average with seven shutouts.

Junior Mitchell Muise

Lentine, a midfielder, saw the most action of the group, appearing in all 20 games while making 10 starts. Lentine scored one goal and should take on a larger role this season.

Whitmore missed the 2013 season due to injury, but has returned to the lineup at full strength. As a junior in 2012, he started 16 games and finished fifth on the team in scoring behind three goals and one assist.

Sophomore Hassan Mostafa returns as the team's starting goalkeeper after appearing in 15 games as a freshman. He finished with eight wins and made 39 saves.

Sophomore Chris Herbert started 15 of 18 games in the midfield a year ago and should again earn a starting spot. The coaches like his energy in the midfield and he should improve on his numbers (3 goals) in his second year.

 

Other returning Bobcats are; goalkeeper Jackson Bicknell, forward Nabayee Tesfu, forward Derek Fuller, and defender Anthony Depaz.  Red-shirt sophomore Jonathan Lippitt hopes to return to the line-up once cleared by Doctors.  Lippitt started the first three games of the season and then after receiving a concussion missed the rest of the season and was awarded a medical hardship waiver.

 

Joining the Bobcats will be three transfers; Barak Shechter and Nelson Mwanza from Montgomery College Rockville and Connor Eberly from Potomac State College.  Hedrik de Wit and Daniel Ramirez will join the squad after having a sold spring season as walk-ons to the program.

 

The freshman class will consist of 8 players including Brett Basham, Rodrigo Valenzuela, Austin Campbell, Hunter Strine, Owen Marx, Andrew Jenkins, Andrew Bergamaschi, and Jabiri Hawkins, 

Bobcats Salvage 2-2 Draw with Alumni

This past Saturday was our annual pre-season alumni scrimmage which typically ends the tryout process for the men's soccer team.  The Alumni represented in good numbers with a healthy roster of 20 plus players and a few injured "coaches" on the bench for good measure.

The game was deadlocked for a while but midway through the 2nd period (played three 30's) birthday boy Collin Sainz found the back of the net to give the Alumni the 1-0 lead.  After the best shot of his life rang off the upper 90 from about 35 yards out, Kunle Akinfeleye finished off a loose ball in front of the net to push the lead to 2-0.

The boys were feeling the affects from a long week of pre-season and nine guys had to sit out the match due to injury.  Going into the final 30 minute period we were forced to throw Coach KMac on the field along with goalkeeper Hassan Mostafa to make sure we had enough healthy bodies.  We began to put some opportunities together and finally got on the board with about 5 minutes remaining.  After a give away in the middle of the field, Nabayee Tesfu received a through ball in behind the back line and slipped it under the keeper with about one minute to play to tie the game at two.

Overall we had a very competitive game and escaped without any major injuries.  I wanted to thank all the Alumni that made it up to watch and play.  Its always a great time of year when we can catch up with old friends and re-live some of the glory days.

Boy's Participate in First Annual Allegheny Trail 5K

A new pre-season tradition was born this year as we had the boy's participate in a 5K run along the Greater Allegheny Passage as part of our pre-season conditioning. 

Now complete to Pittsburgh, the 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage connects with the 184.5-mile C&O Canal Towpath at Cumberland, MD to create a 334.5-mile route between Pittsburgh and Washington, DC, free from traffic and motorized vehicles. The Montour Branch will, when completed, will connect McKeesport to the Pittsburgh International Airport and Coraopolis.

Teams were selected randomly in groups of three or four and then we just averaged everyone's times to see which team recorded the lowest overall time.

The team of Mitchell Muise, Derek Fuller, and Coach Kevin McCarthy finished with a respectable time of 20:41.  Most of the other teams were between 21 and 22 minutes, so not bad, but still a little work to do on our fitness and endurance.

The team at the beginning of the trail
 

Musie Selected as Team Captain

Junior Mitchell Muise has been selected as the team captain of the 2014 Bobcat Soccer Team.                                                                                

 

Muise started in all 19 games his freshman year in 2011 at center back and helped guide the Bobcats to an 11-3-5 record and semi-final appearance in the CAC Playoffs.

After ankle surgery at the end of the spring semester Muise missed the entire 2012 season, but returned to the squad in 2013 in limited action.  Mitchell progressively got back in shape and was able to return for the teams final 8 games of the season and started 5 of those games, including 4 post-season matches in the CAC and ECAC playoffs.

Muise will guide a young Frostburg team this year that will have to replace 17 players including the experience of 13 seniors.  Mitchell will be the lone returning starter in the back line, so his leadership will be tested as he tries to guide the young Bobcats into the CAC Playoffs for the fourth straight season.

Liberatore added to Bearcats Staff

Louis Liberatore begins his first season as an assistant coach at Binghamton in 2014. He arrives from Frostburg State, where he was the graduate assistant coach for the men's and women’s soccer teams the past two seasons. As the goalkeeper coach, he helped guide the squad to 25 and 22 wins respectively during that time period.

Prior to his stint at Frostburg State, Liberatore was a volunteer assistant goalkeeper coach at his alma mater, Belmont Abbey, during the 2011-12 academic year. At the same time, he was the assistant director of goalkeeper for the Gaston United Soccer Club.

A five-year letterwinner at Belmont Abbey, Liberatore graduated in 2012 with a double major in sports management and sports psychology. A two-year team captain, he was named both All-Conference Carolinas and Academic All-Conference Carolinas.

Liberatore holds a NSCAA National Diploma as well as a Level III Goalkeeping Diploma.

THE LIBERATORE FILE
2014-Present: Assistant Coach, Binghamton University
2012-14: Graduate Assistant Coach, Frostburg State University Women’s Team
2011-12: Volunteer Assistant Coach, Belmont Abbey