FSU Men’s Soccer Falls in Conference Opener

On Wednesday, Oct. 5, the Frostburg State University men’s soccer team kicked off Capital Athletic Conference play against the University of Mary Washington at Bobcat Stadium. In what proved to be a even contest for most of the match, the Eagles of Mary Washington eventually powered past the Bobcats with a final score of 3-1.

In the first half, the Eagles struck first, as sophomore forward Ryan Van Maanen scored the game’s opening goal in the 13th minute off a long assist from junior defender Colin Travis.  The Bobcats fought back and tied the game quickly with sophomore Ernie Williams’ fourth goal of the season in the 15th minute. Williams was assisted on a cross from fellow sophomore midfielder Kelvin Tata. After a hard fought first period, the Bobcats and Eagles found themselves deadlocked at one goal apiece headed into halftime.

Unfortunately for Frostburg State, Mary Washington dominated in the second half. Early in this half, the Eagles were able to break the tie with a goal in the game’s 55th minute. Freshman midfielder Gabriel Soriano launched a superb free kick, which set senior forward Riley Fisher up for his first score of the match.

Although the Bobcats outshot the Eagles 7-6 in the second period of play, the equalizing goal never came from Frostburg. Then, in the 74th minute, Mary Washington added to their lead with a decisive goal from senior forward Jacob Burke that set the final score of 3-1.  Frostburg State continued to fight hard through the end of the contest, but the Bobcats failed to convert their remaining changes on goal.  Frostburg goalkeeper Hassan Mostafa played the full 90 minutes, and he recorded three saves. The Bobcats were led in shots by junior midfielder Rodrigo Valenzuela, who tallied three. Tata and Williams both finished the game with two shots on goal each. Overall, the Eagles held a narrow 12-11 edge in shots over the Bobcats.