Set Pieces the Key to FSU Win

Junior Mitchell Muise

Tuesday night we faced former AMCC rival Penn St. Altoona in a non-conference match-up.  Guided by the help of three separate set pieces we defeated Altoona 3-0 and posted another shut out.

It wasn't our best soccer of the season, but at least we continued the trend of finding the back of the net.  Daniel Ramirez got things going early when he scored on a free kick for the second game in a row.

Ramirez Goal: http://youtu.be/wJcdy24IsAE

The rest of the half was a little sloppy as I thought we gave the ball away too much and didn't connect on the simple passes that would have given us more scoring opportunities.

In the second half I thought we came out with a lot more fight and began to influence the direction of the game.  Our midfield began to compete for loose balls and did a good job of keeping possession.

Early in the half Jabiri Hawkins launched a long throw into the box that was headed off the post by Nabayee Tesfu and followed up by Mitchell Muise for the easy score and his first collegiate goal of his career.

Muise Goal: http://youtu.be/uvPQg5Q4fMM

Not more than five minutes later Andrew Bergamaschi launched a long throw in from the other side of the field and Bryan Whitmore headed home the goal for his first of the season and the 3-0 win.

Whitmore Goal: http://youtu.be/3iAzohinbu4

The defense was solid again only allowing 12 shots, but none that were too threatening.  Jackson Bicknell made a great save off an Altoona free kick after relieving Hassan Mostafa in the 75th minute.

We have a bye this weekend and will be back at Bobcat Stadium on Wednesday night at 7pm against Hood College.

Bobcats Explode for Five Goals Against Presidents

The offense finally got on track Saturday afternoon as five different players scored in route to a 5-0 win over Washington and Jefferson College.

Sophomore Nabayee Tesfu got things going early when he made a nice diagonal run in behind the back-line and Brett Basham found him in stride for the breakaway and a 1-0 lead.

Tesfu Goal: http://youtu.be/9OVZK5XdJPc

Late in the half Brett Basham got his head on the end of a corner kick that was targeted for the back of the net, but the W&J defender knocked the ball down with his hand.  He received a red card and we were awarded a penalty kick that Bryan Lentine slotted home for his first of the season.

Lentine Goal: http://youtu.be/9sJxcDvEE0M

W&J started the second half with a good intensity, but with the man advantage we were able to keep them in check and started to knock the ball around and maintained good possession throughout the half.  Daniel Ramirez put the game away when he struck a free kick over the keepers head from about 30 yards out.

Ramirez Goal:  http://youtu.be/lETgRe4IOhY

Hendrik de Wit scored his second of the season late in the game off another nice feed from Basham. de Wit outraced the center back and slipped the ball far-post just passed the keeper.

de Wit Goal: http://youtu.be/E_tATPOMnZk

Austin Campbell scored is first collegiate goal with two minutes remaining after he patiently waited for an angle to put a shot past two defenders and it looked like the goalie never saw it coming.

Campbell Goal: http://youtu.be/iA7mVxiKfD8

We return to action on Tuesday night when we face Penn St. Altoona at 7pm at Bobcat Stadium.

Bobcats Fall to Regionally Ranked Johns Hopkins

Wednesday evening we faced our toughest opponent in Johns Hopkins University who came into the game ranked #8 in the mid-atlantic region.  I thought we battled hard, but in the end we dropped a hard fought 1-0 decision to a better team.

Hopkins moved off the ball very well and had us chasing them around for a while, but I thought we were able to keep their quality chances to a minimum in the first half and our back line was solid along with Hassan Mostafa in goal.

In the second half I thought we played with more confidence, but Hopkins was able to breakthrough and get their goal off a nice combination play.  We had some decent possession in the middle of the field, but our offense was held in check by their backline and we never really got anything going in the final third.

I thought it was a good game for us to learn from as Johns Hopkins' movement and timing off the ball was excellent.  As a young team we react too much rather than anticipating our movements on the pitch and where the ball will be.  If we can just start to see the bigger picture and see one step ahead I think we can start to play at that higher level.

Our four game road trip winds up this weekend as we head to Washington and Jefferson for a 1pm kick-off.

Russell Named to CAC Men's Soccer Silver Anniversary Team

Former Frostburg State men's soccer standout Ryan Russell has been named to the Capital Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Silver Anniversary Team as the CAC celebrates its 25^th Anniversary during the 2014-15 academic year.

Russell earned numerous honors and awards during his two years as a Bobcat. He was twice named the CAC Player of the Year and was a two-time All-CAC First Team honoree. He led the conference in scoring in both seasons and led Frostburg to the CAC Tournament semifinals twice.

As a senior in 2012, Russell helped Frostburg to a 12-3-4 overall record while collecting National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-South Atlantic Region First Team honors. He was also named the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) South Region Offensive Player of the Year.

As a junior, Russell earned NSCAA All-Region honors and led the CAC with 16 goals.

Russell was selected as FSU's Male Athlete of the Year following both seasons at the spring athletic awards banquet.

Each CAC Silver Anniversary Team will feature 25 former or current standouts and the CAC office will announce the teams throughout the 2014-15 academic year.

FSU Comes From Behind to Draw Eastern Mennonite

Saturday afternoon we traveled to Harrisonburg, VA to face Eastern Mennonite University.  We were barely off the bus before we found ourselves down 0-1 and needed a lightning delay to regroup and come back to earn the 1-1 draw.

EMU came out running and we looked very passive and after just 1:30 seconds into the game we were down 0-1 to the Royals.  At about the 12 minute mark we were called off the field for a lightning delay which lasted close to an hour.

That break gave us a much needed opportunity to regroup and go over some things tactically that the boys were struggling with.  When we came back from the break we came out with a lot more fight and passion and began to get ourselves back into the game.  I was very pleased with the end of the half performance, but we were still down by a goal and had some work to do.

Freshman Andrew Jenkins

We came out with great intensity again in the second half and used our pressing defense to our advantage.  After Bryan Whitmore dispossessed an EMU midfielder he found freshman Andrew Jenkins just outside the box.  Jenkins began to dribble and took a long shot from about 25-30 yards out when he noticed the keeper was cheating towards the wrong direction.  The ball beat the keeper near post and we were all tied at one a piece.

http://youtu.be/AXZyp4PSrFA - Jenkins Goal

I thought we did a good job of continuing to press and creating opportunities, but as the story went in the first few games we were unable to find that second goal to get the winner.  I was very pleased with how we responded after the break and if we continue to play with that emotion and fight on the field I think we'll start the see beginnings of a pretty good team taking shape.

We continue our road trip on Wednesday as we travel to Baltimore to Face Johns Hopkins at 7pm.

FSU Posts 2nd Shutout in Win at Bethany College

Sophomore Derek Fuller

Wednesday afternoon was our first road contest of the year.  We typically struggle to adjust to playing our first match on grass after spending all pre-season on a turf field and to make things more interesting the pitch was pretty soft from a heavy weekend rain and the grass was thick because it was too soft to cut.

We played okay at the start, but had our usual inconsistencies with our passing accuracy.  Towards the end of the half we began to dictate the play and do a better job of moving the ball, but could not break down the Bethany defense enough to score.

I thought we would have momentum in the 2nd half, but Bethany came out with more intensity and created the first few opportunities of the half.  I thought our subs did a great job of raising our level of play and after they were inserted into the game we began to get the momentum back.

It took a while, but in the 78th minute sophomore Derek Fuller scored his first collegiate goal to give us the 1-0 victory.  Senior defender Bryan Lentine did a great job of getting involved in the attack and registered the assist after finding Fuller at the back-post.

http://youtu.be/81fDKGAhKYo - Fuller Goal

We are in the middle of a 4 game road trip right now and will be down in Harrisonburg, VA on Saturday to face Eastern Mennonite University at 2pm.

Bobcats Fall in Championship Game

After defeating Juniata on Friday afternoon to start the season off right the FSU men's soccer team dropped a closely contested match to Manhattanville College 0-1 on Saturday in the tournament's championship game.

Friday's game started out a bit chaotic as the boy's seemed to be dealing with opening day butterflies. There was not much flow to the game and possession was at a minimum for both teams.  We went to half feeling like we were lucky to be even at 0-0.

In the second half the boys settled down and started to connect some passes and show some spark in the attacking third.  Juniata did't threaten much as we only allowed two shots in the second half, but all our possession went wasted as we failed to find a game winner in regulation.

Junor Hendrik de Wit

After a punt by Hassan Mostafa, Brian Whitmore and Hendrik de Wit applied good pressure to the ball to help us win it back in the attacking third.  Whitmore found Barak Shechter who fed de Wit with a nice through ball and Hendrik scored his first collegiate goal from about 30 yds out that sailed over the keeper and tucked just under the upper 90 for the game winner in double overtime.

http://youtu.be/R0YbTAgpoDA

Saturday afternoon we would face Manhattanville College in the championship game after they defeated Alfred University 1-0 in double overtime in the night cap on Friday night.

This game was similar to the first half on Friday as neither team really did a great job of keeping the ball and creating good scoring opportunities.  Most of the game was played out in the midfield with a lot of transitions being halted by the opposing back lines.

We probably only had two or three legitimate scoring chances and did not do enough throughout the match to keep the pressure on Manhattanville.  About midway through the second half we failed to clear a corner kick that bounced near post.  The loose ball fell to an open Manhattanville player about 3 yds from the goal and it was put away for the game winning goal.

We can see a lot of potential in what we are doing, but we still have a long way to go to get to the level that will be needed to compete for the CAC playoffs.

Still feeling the affects of pre-season, seven players did not suit up for the opening weekend tournament.  Hopefully by Wednesday we'll get two back as we go on the road to face Bethany College at 4pm.