FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg men's lacrosse team earned a trip to the CAC Tournament semifinals with a 14-9 win over Southern Virginia in the first round, Saturday.
 
The Bobcats (10-8) earned a spot in the semifinals for the fourth time in five years behind nine second-half goals that proved too much for the visiting Knights (10-8).
 
The win advances Frostburg to No. 2 ranked and top-seed York (Pa.) on Tuesday at 7:00 pm. The Bobcats dropped their regular-season matchup with the Spartans, 8-6, and Tuesday's meeting will be the first in the CAC Tournament between the two schools.
 
The Bobcats pounced on SVU early with a 4-0 lead after the first quarter that included a 16-2 edge for the hosts in shots.
 
The Knights countered with three-straight goals before senior Ryan Baukhages scored with 1:08 left in the second quarter for a 5-3 halftime cushion.
 
The teams combined for nine goals in the third quarter and Southern Virginia narrowed its deficit to 8-7 with 2:35 showing on the third quarter clock. The Knights later cut their deficit to two goals, twice in the fourth quarter.
 
However, Frostburg took control by scoring three goals in the final five minutes of the fourth. Senior Adam Gross found sophomore Paul Ruppert for a goal with 4:48 left that pushed the Frostburg lead to 12-9.
 
Baukhages connected with senior Nate Collins for a goal at 3:12 and sophomore Michael Sipes put the exclamation point on the afternoon with an unassisted tally with 34 seconds remaining.
 
FSU outshot the Knights 40-29 and was nearly perfect with 12-of-13 clears. Sophomore keeper Jack Marks made eight saves, including four in the fourth quarter that helped keep SVU from narrowing its deficit any further.
 
Collins powered the Bobcats in scoring with four goals and two assists. He scored the second and fourth goals of the opening quarter that helped the Bobcats to their 4-0 advantage.
 
Gross finished with three goals and two assists, while Baukhages scored twice and handed out an assist.
 
First-year Matt Pagliaro scored his first goal of his collegiate career early in the third when he won the faceoff and raced to the net for the score at 10:54 and a 6-4 Bobcat lead.
 
Anthony Good led Southern Virginia with two goals and one assist, while Seth Garff finished with one goal and three assists.