Bobcats fall to 7-6 after losses to #3 York and #20 Christopher Newport

The Frostburg State University (FSU) men’s lacrosse team lost a pair of 13-8 games this past week against ranked competition. The Bobcats faced #3 York (Pa.) on Wednesday night and #20 Christopher Newport (CNU) on Saturday. The Bobcats have yet to win a game in what has been a difficult conference schedule. FSU still has an above .500 record at 7-6 despite the recent losses.

In Wednesday’s game against #3 York, FSU looked as if they were gearing up for one of the biggest upsets of the season. The Bobcats held a 7-6 lead on the road with 6:54 remaining in the third quarter, but a goal from senior attack Brendan McGrath spurred a 5-0 run that would span the third and fourth quarters. The run put Bobcats in a 12-7 hole with 12:31 to play in the game. The two teams would each score one more goal in the fourth, ending the game at 13-8.

Junior Jimmy Lucas and sophomore Matthew Ward led the way for the Bobcats in the scoring department with two goals each. Junior goalie Jack Marks had 12 saves on the evening. Thomas Pfeiffer netted over half the goals for the Spartans, scoring seven in a dominant performance.

York was FSU’s second straight loss against top five competition. The Bobcats lost a tough game against #1 Salisbury less than a week prior. Wednesday’s game improved York’s record to 12-1.

In Saturday’s senior game against #20 CNU (9-6), the Bobcats were unable to give their seniors the sendoff they hoped for. The Bobcats once again set themselves back by giving up another 5-0 scoring run after leading. The Bobcats led 3-2 after the first quarter but found themselves down 7-3 going into halftime. Despite the scoring run, FSU continued to fight, only being outscored 6-5 in the second half. Dylan Rice was the standout for CNU with three goals and two assists. Sophomore Jason Clinton also scored a trio of goals to lead the Bobcats, and classmate Nicholas Gallagher added a pair of assists.

The Bobcats are now out of the most difficult stretch of their schedule, and will look to pick up wins on the road this week against Southern Virginia (5-10) and St. Mary’s (9-5). These games are a great opportunity to get back on track after what is now a five-game losing streak that has come on the heels of a recent six-game winning streak. The Bobcats play Southern Virginia Wednesday at 5 p.m. and St. Mary’s on Saturday at 3 p.m.