GREENSBURG, Pa. – The Frostburg State men's lacrosse team lost their second straight game to the seventh-ranked Seton Hill Griffins Wednesday afternoon by a final score of 12-10. The Bobcats were led by graduate Paul Ruppert with three goals and one assist and junior Matthew Ward with two goals and two assists.
The loss puts the Bobcats at 5-2 on the season while the Griffins move to 7-1.
Senior Jason Clinton opened the scoring with a goal four minutes in off an assist from Ward to take a 1-0 lead. Frostburg then went on a man-up opportunity before Ward netted his first goal of the day, off an assist from Ruppert, seconds after the penalty expired to give the Bobcats a two-goal lead. After a big save from graduate Jack Marks, Frostburg cleared the ball down the field as Ruppert scored his first goal of the day to take a three-goal advantage at the 8:20 mark in the first quarter.
The Griffins quickly answered with a goal to cut the deficit to two at 3-1. The hosts scored the next two goals tying the game at 3-3 with two minutes remaining in the first. Sophomore Bubba Love scored his first goal with a minute left in the first quarter to give FSU a 4-3 lead going into the second frame of play.
Seton Hill scored to open the quarter tying the game at 4-4. Ward answered with a goal for the Bobcats of an assist from junior Tanner Donaldson before Clinton scored his second of the day to give Frostburg a 6-4 lead. Sophomore Justin Hulse came up with a huge goal for Frostburg off an assist from Love to give FSU another three-goal cushion at the 10:33 mark in the second. The Griffins netted a goal before Ward connected with Ruppert for another Bobcat goal keep their three-goal lead at 8-5. Junior Jake Bowman scored off an assist from Love to increase the lead to four at 9-5 with 1:38 left in the first half. The Griffins scored 30 seconds later to cut the Bobcat advantage back to three at 9-6 going into halftime.
Seton Hill come out of halftime hot as they scored the next five goals of the game to take an 11-9 lead. Ruppert stopped the run with a goal to get it back to a one goal game with Frostburg down 11-10 with four minutes left in the third quarter. Both goalies were tested all day, and both came up with big fourth quarter saves, as Marks recorded three in the final frame while Griffins goalkeeper Kevin Mo registered six. Only one goal was scored in the fourth, coming with one minute left to play from the Griffins to seal the 12-10 win.
The Bobcats struggled to control the faceoffs, which meant Marks would need to have a big day between the pipes for Frostburg to have a chance. He recorded 16 saves on the day, while the defense was led by graduate Garrett Colvin with one caused turnover and four groundballs.
The Bobcats return to action on Saturday, April 24, for Senior Day as they host the Roberts Wesleyan Redhawks. Game time is set for 12:00 p.m. For more information go to www.frostburgsports.com.
