Men’s Soccer Ties Bobcats

By JONATHAN SPEES

The University of Mary Washington men’s soccer team took the field against conference rival Frostburg State University last Saturday, Oct. 1. The Eagles stayed undefeated in conference play, but not how they would have preferred, as they had to settle for a 1-1 tie. It was the second tie for UMW of the season and their second straight tie. With Mary Washington’s failure to get the road victory, they remain winless on the road with a 0-3-2 year.

“Frostburg is a good team and playing them at home is never easy, however we had the win with Matt’s goal and it’s a shame we couldn’t hold on to the lead,” sophomore forward Tanner Carlton said. “Hopefully we will see the Bobcats again in the district tournament where we can fix the late game breakdown.”

The first half was uneventful, as neither team was able to find the back of the net. Frostburg State held the advantage in shot count over the Eagles, 6-3, and the momentum favored the home Bobcats.

The second half opened up with a penalty kick for Frostburg State, and it looked as if the Bobcats were going to take the lead. Fortunately for the Eagles, freshmen goalkeeper Tyler Back made a miraculous save to swing momentum in Mary Washington’s favor. Shortly after Back’s save, senior Robby Davis set up junior defender Matthew Poole for his second varsity goal. The score came in the 71st minute when Jones ripped a shot from six-yards out to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.

Mary Washington looked to be in control of the game, but the Bobcats’ Ryan Russell was able to slide a goal past Back to tie the game at 1-1 with just six minutes remaining in regulation. Despite two overtime periods, no one else could crack the scoreboard again for either side, and the game finished tied.
Frostburg State outshot Mary Washington 15-4 in the second half and overtime periods, and the Bobcats had 21-7 shot advantage for the game. Back recorded a season-high 11 saves for Mary Washington in his 110 minutes of action. The game was also particularly chippy on both sides, as there were seven yellow cards issued in the game, four of which were given to Eagles players.

“A tie is better than a loss, but I wish we had been able to hold off the Bobcats for just a few minutes longer,” Poole said. “I’m glad I could help my team by scoring, but it was a great effort all around and hopefully we will bounce back with a win next game.”

The Eagles played Marymount University last night and defeated the Saints 2-1 to improve to 5-4-2 on the season and 3-0-1 in Capital Athletic Conference play. Junior Matt Willett and Davis scored the goals for Mary Washington in the win. The Eagles next game will be on Tuesday, Oct. 11, when they travel to Maryland to take on St. Mary’s College.