Men’s Lacrosse Sneaks by Christopher Newport

Coming off wins against Cabrini, Wesley, and Marymount, as well as losses against York and Ohio Wesleyan, Frostburg State (6-4, 2-1) returned to action Saturday evening at home against the Captains of Christopher Newport University (8-2, 3-0). The Bobcats went on to win 6-5 thanks to a game-winning goal scored by junior midfielder Adam Gross.

The first goal of the game was scored by Gross at 8:24 in the first quarter. Gross then connected with sophomore attackman Jake Howarth for a score at 6:12 as Frostburg led 2-0.

CNU added two goals to tie the game at 2-2. Will Geise scored the first goal with 1:14 left in the first quarter, followed by a tally by Matthew Crist 32 seconds into the second quarter.

Junior midfielder Keegan Colegrove handed FSU a 3-2 lead with a goal at 10:46 in the second, but CNU answered with a score at 6:28 as both teams were tied at 3-3 at halftime.

Early in the second half, Gross netted another goal less than three minutes into the third quarter, and senior midfielder Kyle Horak took a pass at midfield and sprinted to the net for a goal with 5:46 left, which put the Bobcats ahead 5-3.

The Captains opened the fourth quarter with a tally from Geise that cut Frostburg’s lead to 5-4 with 12:11 to play. Within two minutes later, the visiting team tied the game at 5-5 when Crist scored off a pass from Jake O’Connell.

Following Crist’s goal, Bobcat goalie Jack Marks made two saves inside the final 10 minutes to keep the game tied, With 2:14 to play, the Captains turned the ball over thanks to stellar defense by FSU, as they set up its attack for the final possession.
Gross attempted a shot at 1:00 that sailed high and his second shot with 42 seconds left was initially saved by CNU keeper Matt Hayden. However, the attempt was too strong and popped out of Hayden’s stick and into the goal for the game-winner as FSU improved their record to 7-4.

Gross finished the game with three goals (hat trick) and one assist to power FSU. Senior Chase Cullison handed out two assists, while Colegrove, Howarth, and Horak each scored one time.

Horak won at least 60% of his faceoffs for the sixth straight game as he was 11-of-15 on the evening and he paced FSU with five ground balls. Marks finished with nine saves and made four in the first quarter to help Frostburg keep their opponents scoreless at the time.

Crist led CNU with two goals and one assist, while Geise had two goals. Hayden made 11 saves for his team while Tony Cruz won only three of his 14 faceoffs.
Coach Tommy Pearce’s squad returns to action when they travel to Southern Virginia on Wednesday at 5 p.m.