Bobcats Use Strong 2nd Half to Win CAC Opener

Freshman Kelvin Tata

Saturday night we opened CAC play with a tough road contest at Marymount University.  We fell behind early, but used a strong 2nd half performance to win the game 2-1.

We always seem to struggle to get off to good starts when we visit Marymount.  The last time we were down there we fell behind 3-0 before coming from behind for the 4-3 win.

This time was no different as we surrendered a penalty kick mid-way through the half and found ourselves down 1-0 to the Saints.  We had a lot of time on the ball, but were not patient enough with our distribution and forced a lot of passes that resulted in turnovers.

The second half we picked up the tempo and ball movement.  The short, crisp, passing game was much more effective and the offense began to create opportunities.

Just five minutes into the 2nd half Kelvin Tata received a long service from Sergio Gomez and slotted the ball past the keeper to tie the game at one all.

Eleven minutes later Guy Nabo netted his team leading 6th goal of the season after Hunter Jarmon and Sergio Gomez combined on a nice combination that allowed Gomez to get to the end line and find Nabo in the box.

It was important to start CAC play off with a win and the come from behind result on the road was a good confidence boost for the boys.  We are now 6-2 and have our final non-conference game on Thursday at Penn St. Altoona before returning home on Saturday for a CAC match against Wesley.

Frostburg Loses First Road Match

Tuesday afternoon we suffered our first away loss of the season as we were defeated by Hood College 2-1.

I thought we had a decent focus in warm-ups, but we came out a little complacent in our speed of play and we lost focus on an early set piece.

Just six minutes into the game Hood was awarded a corner kick.  They won the first ball at the near post with a flick and then beat us to the second ball for the games first goal.  That's a play where we need to be more engaged and cannot get out worked in our own box.

Guy Nabo scored his team leading 5th goal of the season just two minutes later when he out muscled a Hood defender for a loose ball in the box and slotted home the shot.

Later in the half a Hood defender miss-hit a cross and the ball sailed to the back post and went in just over the out-stretched arms of goalkeeper Hassan Mostafa.  It was just one of those goals where there is nothing that could have been done about it.

The second half we came out and controlled the tempo of the game.  Hood was limited in their possessions in our half of the field.  We possessed well, we switched the point of attack well, but we struggled to create genuine scoring opportunities.

The Hood defenders worked extremely hard and blocked several shots with their bodies and caught our guys mid swing and stuffed several shots before we could get them off.  We finally thought we had gotten one back when KJ Davis directed in a header from Kelvin Tata, but he was ruled off-sides. The video was in-conclusive, but it looks like KJ's run was made from behind the ball.

We need to forget about this game and get focused on our CAC opener when we will face a much improved Marymount team this Saturday at 7:30pm at Long Bridge Park in Arlington, VA.

Caro Selected CAC Defensive Player of the Week

Freshman GK Carlos Caro

YORK, Pa. – The Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) announced its weekly honors Monday, and Frostburg State freshman goalkeeper Carlos Caro has been selected as the men's soccer Defensive Player of the Week.
 
Caro stopped five shots last week in his first collegiate start, a 2-0 shutout of Washington & Jefferson. Caro made three saves in the second half and the Bobcats scored goals in the 56^th and 62^nd minutes to earn their fifth shutout of the season.
 
Caro has appeared in two games this fall and has played nearly 110 minutes in net.
 
Frostburg State, currently 5-1 on the season, travels to Hood tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 pm.

Bobcats Roll to Fifth Win of the Season

Freshman Carvell Akuff0

Saturday afternoon the Bobcats finished off their non-conference home-stand with their fifth shut-out in six games blanking the Washington and Jefferson Presidents 2-0.

The first half seemed to lack energy and concentration as the boys struggled to maintain possession and were unable to put together much of an attack due to the lack of possession.  I thought we got caught chasing the game for a while instead of controlling the tempo and using our combination play to break down their defense.

The second half was much more productive as our pressing created some turnovers and our ball control allowed us to put together some good scoring opportunities.

Freshman Carvell Akuffo who was been working hard all season finally opened his scoring sheet as he gave us the lead 11 minutes into the second half when he struck a well placed shot just wide of the out-stretched arms of the W&J keeper.

Akuffo goal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRXYGJqEh90

Freshman Serigne Gueye tallied his first goal of the season when he slotted home a beautifully placed flick from Guy Nabo after Kelvin Tata juked his marker and attacked the end-line for the service.

Gueye Goal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1gyxpQa6UY

There was some much better attacking third play from the boys in the second half including a great double give and go by Erik Casterline that was sent off the cross bar by Guy Nabo.

Nabo near miss: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vRBOvnuSjw

With starting keeper Hassan Mostafa a little under the weather, freshman Carlos Caro got his first collegiate start and posted his first shutout as a Bobcat.

We will be on the road for the final three non-conference games starting with Hood College this Tuesday at 4pm.

Bobcats Post Another Home Shut-out

Senior Mitchell Muise

After suffering our first loss on Wednesday afternoon it was good to get back on track with another shut-out at home on Sunday.

Last year we tied Eastern Mennonite 1-1, so we look at this game as another step in the right direction after posting a 2-0 victory at Bobcat Stadium.

The offense was very opportunistic early on as Guy Nabo notched his 4th of the season after he beat the keeper to a through ball and headed it home for the early lead.  The keeper may have had the advantage on the play, but Nabo's size and speed may have been a deterrent for the keeper to contest for the 50/50 ball.

Nabo goal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmNUVnEYEsE

Captain Mitchell Muise tallied his first of the season at the 15:20 mark as he poked home a re-directed header from Serigne Gueye.  Muise's insurance goal was enough to put the game out of reach as the defense would hold the visitors to just 2 shots on goal.

Muise goal:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FcX6YXUzog

Next up will be the Washington and Jefferson Presidents at 2pm on Saturday at Bobcat Stadium.

Nabo Earns ECAC Honors

Frostburg State men's soccer freshman forward Guy Nabo was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III South Region Rookie of the Week, as announced by the league office Thursday.

Nabo earned the honor after late-game heroics last Sunday against Bridgewater College in the final game of the 2015 FSU Tournament. Playing a man down for most of the second half didn't deter the Bobcats as Nabo executed a perfect direct kick from 25 yards out with 33 seconds left in regulation, finding the back of the top left corner for the game's only goal.

Nabo is currently Frostburg's top scorer with four goals and one assist through the first five games.

Frostburg Suffers First Loss of the Season

This was the early season game where we hoped we would show the improvement from last years team.  Unfortunately we came out with a low work rate and a much too defensive position and allowed Hopkins to dictate their style of play and suffered another 1-0 loss for the second straight season.

I thought we played a great second half and thought we were the better team for the final 45 minutes. We switched up the formation to be more aggressive and we applied a ton of pressure which caused some problems for them.  If we could have only played two halves like that I think we could have had a different result.

Despite the slow start we were still in the game, but after a foul was called we lost focus for a few seconds and allowed Hopkins to tap in the rebound off the free kick that was saved by Hassan Mostafa.  It was one of those small moments in the game that makes the difference in a match where there is not a ton of great scoring opportunities.

Hopefully we'll learn that when it comes to CAC play or a strong regional opponent that there is no room for mental let downs, not even for a few seconds or it could be the difference in the match.

Next up will be another good test for us as we face Eastern Mennonite who just defeated Johns Hopkins last week 2-1, on Sunday at 3:30pm

Bobcats Claim Tournament Championship

The Bobcats collected two more wins and two more shut-outs on their way to the 2015 Frostburg State Tournament Championship.

On Saturday evening the offense got some rhythm going as we defeated Centenary College 7-0.  The first half saw goals from transfer Erik Casterline and sophomore Owen Marx.  For Marx it was his first collegiate goal.

Casterline goal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmnaYLhXqUU

Marx goal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dgx4TwcOtYk

Centenary was forced to play down a man almost 3/4's of the game after one of their players received two yellow cards.  I thought we did a good job pressing them and kept them chasing the game until we wore them down and the cracks began to show in their back-line.

We scored five second half goals to put the game out of reach on day one of the tournament.  Freshman Kelvin Tata and KJ Daivs netted their first collegiate goals of the season while Guy Nabo picked up his second in as many games.  Last seasons leading scorer, Nabayee Tesfu tallied his first of the season and newcomer Mack Naughton also picked up his first collegiate goal.

Tata Goal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzuqSLneHeE
Nabo Goal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHtmhI6sMFI
Tesfu Goal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HyZMbsuGEE
Davis Goal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHCu_oWXsI4

On day two we would face Bridgewater for the tournament championship.  This game would not be as easy as Saturday's.  Bridgewater did a good job of making us uncomfortable and forced us into numerous turnovers and fouls.  Despite not playing our best we did earn a penalty kick late in the half and should have gone up 1-0, but the Bridgewater GK made a really nice diving save to keep a Nabayee Tesfu shot out of the net.

In the second half we would face our first bit of adversity on the year as we would have to play a man down for most of the 2nd half after receiving a red card.  The boys battled their butts off and did a great job of limiting Bridgewater's scoring opportunities.

Freshman Guy Nabo would be the hero of the day as he drilled home a free kick with just 30 seconds remaining to help re-claim the FSU Tournament Championship.

Nabo Goal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYkqfWPVA6Q

Freshman Lead the Way in Home Opener

With eight new starters including six freshman the Bobcats took the field Wednesday night for the home opener to the the 2015 season.

I thought we displayed some good possession in the first 25 minutes and created a handful of chances, but I would have liked to have seen a little bit faster speed of play.

Freshman Kelvin Tata

Freshman Kelvin Tata got things going for us early as he drove the end-line and his cut back pass to classmate Guy Nabo put the defender in a tough position and it resulted in an own goal.

Bethany own goal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iuhq9KVk79Y

Early in the second half Nabo would collect a long punt from keeper Hassan Mostafa.  Nabo would calmly tuck the ball past the diving Bethany keeper as the defenders closed in on him.

Nabo goal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ksDk4HKNlY

 Overall I thought it was good way to start the season.  We did have a few defensive lapses, but that's to be expected with a young team.  The more comfortable we get playing with each other the more we'll learn how to keep our shape better and transition to defense more effectively.

Freshman Guy Nabo

Next up we will host our annual Labor Day tournament with games against Centenary College (NJ) on Saturday at 4:30pm and Bridgewater College (Va) on Sunday at 1:30pm.

Pre-Season Wrap Up

The 2015 pre-season has come to an end and when the Bobcats take the field for the first time on September 1st there will be many new faces.

Team after Allegheny Trail 5K run

Overall we will only be returning 12 players from last years team that finished 3rd in the CAC with a record of 10-6-3.

New to this years squad will be eleven new freshman, two transfers, three former walk-ons, and the return of one player who red-shirted the last two seasons for medical reasons.

The freshman class should be able to adjust to the college game fairly quickly as they are all high-level club players.  Three former Bays Academy players; KJ Davis, Kelvin Tata, and Hunter Jarmon will make immediate impacts.  Tata and Jarmon will be plugged in as starters in the mid-field while Davis works his way back into form as he is just seven months removed from ACL surgery.  Two more starters; Carvell Akuffo and Serigne Gueye will join the young Cats line-up after spending the past season playing with nationally ranked Baltimore Celtic.  Akuffo will be a much needed target forward while Gueye will lend his playmaking abilities to the midfield.  Another pair of teammates; Carlos Caro and Sergio Gomez from the Pachuca Dragons will be key defensive additions as Gomez will look to take the right back spot and Caro will compete with returning All-Region goalkeeper, Hassan Mostafa, for the starting job between the pipes.  Former MD All-State selection and Potomac soccer player, Guy Nabo will combine with Akuffo to make a formidable front line.

In the transfer class, former NC Fusion Academy player and Coker College transfer, Erik Casterline will round out the back-line as the left-back.

Back in the line-up for the first time since the fourth game of the 2013 season will be junior, Jonathan Lippitt.  Lippitt, a former MD All-State selection, started the first 4 games of his freshman campaign before being forced to the sidelines for almost 2 full seasons with injuries.  He looks sharp and is feeling good right now, so hopefully his injuries are a thing of the past.

Rounding out the newcomers are Freshmen; Kevin Vickery and Mario Fonseca, JUCO transfer; Elliot Quinteros, and former Walk-ons; Mack Naughton, Jose Montano, and Basluel Mekonnen.

Deep Creek Open Winners: Andrew Bergamaschi
 Elliot Quinteros, Mack Naughton, and Kevin Vickery