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.