FROSTBURG, Md. - The Frostburg men's lacrosse team continues to reach new heights and set program records and this spring Bobcat head coach Tommy Pearce is confident his squad can get back to the CAC Championship game and make a run at the NCAA Tournament. The Bobcats' 2018 slate gets underway tomorrow afternoon with Ursinus at 1:00 pm at Bobcat Stadium.
 
Welcome Back
Over the last five years, Frostburg has collected or set numerous program records on its way to 67 wins and five-straight CAC Tournament appearances. Pearce, in his eighth season at the helm, has transformed his program into one of the top teams in the region, despite playing one of the toughest schedules year in and year out.
 
A two-time CAC Coach of the Year, Pearce has guided his Bobcats to several appearances in the USILA Top 20 poll over the last three years and FSU will have plenty of chances this season to return to the poll.
 
The Schedule
It goes without saying that Pearce likes to challenge his teams with a tough nonconference schedule to help prepare them for the daunting CAC schedule and this season might feature the toughest schedule yet.
 
Four of the Bobcats' 17 opponents enter the season ranked inside the USILA Preseason Top 20 poll. Salisbury (22-1) enters the season ranked No. 1 after capturing the National Championship last spring. York (Pa.)(17-4) is slated fifth in the preseason poll, Cabrini (17-4) is seventh and Franklin & Marshall (16-3) is 15^th.

Senior captain Adam Gross

 
A closer look reveals that 11 of the Bobcats' opponents won nine or more games last spring and six of those teams won 11 or more contests. FSU's nine nonconference foes averaged nearly 11 wins last spring and five of the teams either received votes or made an appearance in the USILA Top 20 weekly poll.
 
Aside from Salisbury and York, Frostburg's CAC slate also features Christopher Newport (11-6), which received votes in the USILA poll last spring, and Mary Washington (9-8), which knocked Frostburg out of the CAC Tournament.
 
Welcome Back – Part 2
Pearce and his staff welcome back a core nucleus of starters from last year's nine-win team that should propel the Bobcats back to double-digit wins and a spot in the CAC Tournament Championship.
 
The senior foursome of Adam Gross, Keegan Colegrove, Ryan Baukhages and Bradley Jones will be the captains for the '18 campaign after they appeared in a combined 49 games last year.
 
Over the past two seasons, Gross has totaled 90 points and paced the offense last year with 48 points, while Colegrove has registered 56 points over the past two seasons.
 
Baukhages returns after losing the 2017 season due to injury. He has appeared in 23 games with four goals and two assists.
 
Jones was one of three Bobcats to start all 16 games last spring and he caused 10 turnovers with 18 ground balls.
 
Along with Jones, junior defender Joey Lucas and sophomore goalie Jack Marks both started all 16 games and the trio will form the backbone of the Bobcat defense. Last spring, Lucas caused nine turnovers and scooped up 12 ground balls, while Marks stopped 152 shots and posted a 7.99 goals against average.
 
Senior Josh Nicodemus will add depth to the defense after playing in 14 games and making five starts a year ago, while sophomore Dante York played in all 16 games with three starts in his first year. He scooped up 10 ground balls and caused five turnovers. Sophomore Garrett Colvin will add depth to the defense after playing in five games.
 
Senior Brian Kilonsky, a short-stick defensive midfielder, along with junior long-stick midfielders Nick Mattis and Greg Giles combined to appear in 35 games last year.

Senior captain Bradley Jones

 
Last spring, the Bobcat defense finished third in the CAC in man-down defense (0.688) and third in scoring defense (8.06).
 
At the other end of the field, the offense will be bolstered by the return of junior Jake Howarth, sophomore Jimmy Lucas and sophomore Paul Ruppert who combined for 27 goals and 10 assists.
 
Senior Nate Collins is returning the lineup after an injury plagued 2017 season and first-year Jason Clinton will also see plenty of time on attack. Collins played in 14 games and registered seven points (6 goals, one assist) as a sophmore two seasons ago.
 
In the midfield, senior Dan Paladino along with sophomores Justin Carroll and Mike Sipes will see expanded roles this spring, while first-year's Jeffrey Stallings and Nick Gallagher will also see playing time. Carroll appeared in 13 games and totaled five points in his first season.
 
"Our defense did a really good job last spring, but our offense couldn't win close games," said Pearce. "We lost one game by a goal and another four losses came by three goals or less. I want a more productive offense and I want them to raise the bar to make up the difference in close games. I feel like a few more goals can make a huge difference."
 
Replacing The X
The only question mark surrounding this year's Bobcat team is at the X as Pearce will have to find his third faceoff specialist in three seasons.
 
Senior Kyle Horak graduated after winning 160-of-287 faceoffs (55.7%) with 84 ground balls last spring. Two years ago, All-American FO Erik Geiser graduated paving the way for Horak.
 
Sophomore Sam Natvig won 12-of-25 faceoffs (48%) in a limited role last spring and should enter the season as the starter. Junior Drew Mash, along with first-years Matt Pagliaro and Mike Thorne could also see time at faceoff.
 
Making A Home In Net
Sophomore Jack Marks stepped into the starting role a year ago as a first-year and notched 152 saves in nearly 950 minutes between the pipes.
 
He stopped 10 or more shots in eight games, including double-digit saves against three nationally-ranked teams; Franklin & Marshall (10 svs.), Cabrini (12 svs.) and Ohio Wesleyan (11 svs.).
 
He capped the season with a combined 41 saves over the final three games.
 
CAC Preseason Poll
Frostburg was picked fourth in the CAC Preseason Coaches Poll as voted on by the leagues head coaches.
 
Defending national champion Salisbury (64 pts.) received all but one first-place vote and was picked to win the CAC Championship for the 21st time. York (Pa.)(57 pts.) received the other first-place vote and was tabbed second. Christopher Newport (47 pts.) is third, just four points ahead of the Bobcats.