SOUTH EUCLID, OHIO – The Frostburg State women's lacrosse team came up short in Friday afternoon's MEC Championship game, falling to Notre Dame (Ohio) by a final score of 14-10.
The Bobcats' appearance in the MEC Title Game was the first for a Frostburg State athletics program since the move to Division II prior to the start of the 2019-2020 season.
The teams traded goals in a tightly contested first half. After a Falcon goal two minutes in, senior Maggie Roszko got the Bobcats on the board to tie the score 1-1. After a goal from NDC's Charlotte Vari, senior Stephanie King tied things back up with a goal off an assist from senior Lindsay Kohlmann.
Once again, Notre Dame would score the next goal, as Amanda Paino fired one past first-year goalkeeper McKenna Shay to give the Falcons a 3-2 lead. Frostburg would notch the next two goals, the first from first-year Erin Bryce and the next from first-year Anna Kearney to give the Bobcats their first lead at 4-3.
Notre Dame would respond with a pair of goals of their own, as Paino tied the game with just over four minutes remaining in the first half. Selena Carter would then give NDC the lead with 1:17 left in the half. Kohlmann would even things up with just 33 seconds on the clock, evening things at 5-5 going into halftime.
The Falcons opened the second half with back-to-back goals, as Vari and Megan Jackson scored to give Notre Dame a 7-5 lead. Kohlmann would score her second goal of the day just over eight minutes into the half to cut the deficit to one at 7-6.
Ebony Reddick would put one past Shay near the midpoint of the second half to make it an 8-6 game, but senior Summer Cavey would answer back two minutes later to cut the deficit back to one.
From there, Notre Dame started to pull away. The Falcons would score back-to-back goals separated by less than two minutes to extend the lead to 10-7. Bryce kept the Bobcats in it, as she found the back of the net with 9:52 left to bring FSU back within two.
Notre Dame was undeterred, however, as they scored the next three goals to take a 13-8 lead with 4:34 remaining. Frostburg tried to mount a late comeback, as Cavey and Kohlmann scored 10 seconds apart in the late stages of the second half to cut it to a 13-10 game. It proved to be too late for the Bobcats, as NDC won the ensuing draw and Paino added an insurance goal with one second left to ice the game.
Kohlmann led the Bobcats with three goals on the afternoon, while Cavey and Bryce each had two goals apiece. Kohlmann and Cavey each recorded five draw controls, while Cavey also had three ground balls and four caused turnovers. Shay made 15 saves in goal for Frostburg.
Frostburg State finishes the 2021 season with a record of 10-5, as they look forward to returning to the field next spring. For more information, visit frostburgsports.com.
