FROSTBURG, Md. – Frostburg State reached as high as No. 15 in last spring's USILA week five poll and the Bobcats have plenty of momentum on their side as they head into the 2017 campaign. FSU will have plenty of chances to reach higher in this year's poll and it will have an early test as it opens its season this Saturday at No. 17 Ursinus (1:00 pm).
 
Welcome Back
Frostburg head coach Tommy Pearce his entering is seventh season and continues to steer his program to new heights and program firsts. The Bobcats have won a total of 66 games under Pearce's guidance and are averaging 14.5 wins per season over the last four campaigns.
 
In 2015, Frostburg opened the season at 14-0 and appeared in the CAC Championship, while a year ago, the Bobcats opened with 11-straight wins and advanced to the CAC Tournament semifinals.
 
Pearce has established his program as one of the top teams in the region with five All-Americans over the last two seasons, while spending nine weeks ranked inside the USILA Top 20 weekly poll during that stretch.
 
Captains
Seniors Chris Santina, Alex Philips and Kyle Horak have been selected by their teammates as team captains in their final season in a Bobcat uniform.
 
Santina and Phillips both headline the long-stick midfield group. Santina appeared in all 19 games as a junior, scooped up 18 ground balls while causing eight turnovers. Phillips made four starts, played in all 19 games, picked up 35 ground balls and caused 14 turnovers.

Chris Santina

 
Horak will become the Bobcats' primary faceoff specialist this spring after finishing second on the roster last spring with 74 wins in 125 attempts for a 59.2 winning percentage. He picked up 43 ground balls and handed out one assist.
 
Getting Defensive
While the Bobcats lost six of their top eight scorers from last season, the defensive side of the field returns intact and should emerge as one of the top groups in the country.
 
FSU returns its top four close, short stick defenders in sophomore Joe Lucas, junior Bradley Jones, junior Josh Nicodemus and sophomore Joe Cooper. Freshman Dante York also has the talent to rotate in on defense despite the returning talent at the position.
 
A year ago, the returning foursome helped the Bobcats finish 22^nd in the nation in scoring defense (7.32 gpg), including the country's 12^th best mark in man-down defense (0.822). Frostburg also caused Division III's 13^th most turnovers per game at 14.21.
 
Last spring, the four combined to scoop up 69 ground balls, cause 27 turnovers and helped hold 11 opponents under seven goals in a game.
 
Lucas is one of two returning All-CAC performers from last spring after garnering second-team honors as a freshman.
 
Confidence
Coach Pearce and his staff are confident in the returning talent and depth to overcome the losses in scoring. In fact, Pearce believes that his returning players have enough experience to quickly become one of the CAC's top groups.
 
"Just because the returners didn't get a lot of starts last spring doesn't mean anything," said Pearce. "We have plenty of returning players just with new opportunities."

Joey Lucas

 
On the attack, juniors Nate Collins and Nick Pontorno appeared in a combined 33 games last spring and will have an increased presence up front this spring. Pontorno totaled 18 points behind nine goals and nine assists and was the team's leader with five man-up goals, while Collins finished with six goals and one assist. Freshmen Paul Ruppert and Jimmy Lucas along with sophomore Jake Howarth will step in and play a big role on the attack in his first season.
 
Pearce also believes he has one of the top midfield lines in the CAC behind juniors Adam Gross and Keegan Colegrove.
 
Gross finished second on the roster in scoring last spring and should increase those numbers this season. As a sophomore he totaled 25 goals and 23 assists in just 17 games. Colegrove played in all 19 games as well and logged 11 goals and five assists.
 
Frostburg's second midfield line is also loaded with talent and athleticism in juniors Ryan Baukhages and Quinn Western, along with freshmen Justin Carroll and Jake Bowling. Baukhages registered a goal and two assists in 14 games as a sophomore.
 
LSM/SSDM
The Bobcats return all three of their top long-stick midfielders from a season ago and their top short-stick defensive midfielder.
 
It's easy to see what Pearce is excited about the long-stick midfielders as seniors Chris Santina and Alex Phillips were voted as two of the team's three captains this year and both return with a plethora of playing experience.
 
Santina, twice named team captain, has appeared in all but one game over the last two seasons, while Phillips played in 18 contests last spring and made four starts. The duo combined for 53 ground balls and 22 caused turnovers.
 
Sophomore Nick Mattis also returns to the long-stick midfield group after garnering 18 games worth of experience in his first season.
 
Senior John Gamber is no doubt the team's top short-stick defensive midfielder after starting 15 games last spring with 44 appearances in his previous three seasons. He finished last spring with three goals, six assists, 30 ground balls and eight caused turnovers.

Kyle Horak

 
At the X
While Frostburg graduated All-American face-off specialist Erik Geiser, Pearce is confident that senior captain Kyle Horak will take the reins without any drop off.
 
Horak won 74-of-125 (59.2%) face offs last spring and finished 11^th in the CAC in wins. Over the last two seasons, Horak has won 184-of-302 face offs for a 60.9 winning percentage. He has also added 104 ground balls, along with a goal and an assist.
 
Providing depth will be freshman Sam Natvig and sophomore Drew Mash.
 
Goalkeeper Battle
Like face off, the Bobcats will have to fill the void left by All-American Tom Kramer, who now serves as the program's graduate assistant coach.
 
Pearce was quick to point out that talented freshman Jack Marks has emerged as the team's starter in net. He will be backed up by fellow freshman Ben Heinzman.