FROSTBURG, Md. – Frostburg State faced its toughest test of the season at home against No. 19 Florida Southern and passed with flying colors, downing the Mocs 16-8.
 
FSU drew first blood with a goal by junior Jason Clinton less than four minutes into the first period. The Mocs responded at the 5:51 mark to tie the game at 1-1. It marked the last time Florida Southern equaled FSU.
 
Two more Bobcat goals landed in between the pipes less than three minutes apart. Senior Michael Sipes lassoed an unassisted goal with 4:24 to play in the quarter, while junior Nick Gallagher provided some cushion with another unassisted score.
 
FSU came out on fire in the second quarter with three goals in a span of 1:49. Senior Paul Ruppert tallied his first score of the night just 56 seconds in the quarter. At the 12:58 mark, Ruppert found Sipes who lasered a shot in between the pipes. To add the cherry on top of the strong start, Clinton put the Bobcats up 6-1 with 12:13 to play in the second quarter.
 
Both the Mocs and Bobcats traded goals to finish the quarter, with Sipes and sophomore Tanner Donaldson adding FSU's final two goals of the quarter, taking an 8-4 halftime lead into the break.
 
FSU again came out firing right away, with Gallagher scoring 19 seconds into the third. Ruppert added another 1:03 later to balloon the Bobcats' lead to 10-4.
 
After a Florida Southern goal made it 10-5 Bobcats with 11:51 to play in the third, both teams' offenses petered out for the majority of the quarter. Donaldson added his second goal with 53.5 seconds left in the quarter to extend FSU's lead to 11-5 after three.
 
The Bobcats added the exclamation point in the fourth quarter, putting the game away for good. Sophomore Matthew Ward scored the first of three Bobcat goals in the fourth quarter. Less than two minutes later, Sipes added a man-up goal to go up 13-5, and Ruppert finished his scoring with a goal at the 9:28 mark.
 
FSU added two more goals thanks to the sticks of senior Dylan Scheeler and first-year Justin Hulse, taking the final score to 16-8.
 
Sipes scored a game-best four goals on five shots on goal, while Ruppert added three goals and two assists while gobbling up five ground balls. Senior goalkeeper Jack Marks made 16 saves in net, recording a .667 save percentage in the process.
 
Frostburg grabbed 41 ground balls and held a 28-24 shot on goal advantage. The Bobcats also were 20-of-23 on clear attempts.
 
For more information, visit www.frostburgsports.com.