ERIE, Pa. - The Frostburg State Women's Soccer team was unable to make it past the first round of the NCAA Division II Tournament in their first-ever appearance, falling 3-0 to Kutztown.
The game was originally scheduled at Gannon University, but had to be moved due to flooding at McConnell Family Stadium, forcing a move to Penn State Behrend with kick-off an hour later than the original time as well.
Each team spent the first minutes of the game getting a feel for the quick pitch, as the rain added an element of chaos to attempts at possession. Sophomore Mei Homman had the first attempt of either side six minutes in, as she blasted a shot from distance narrowly high and wide of the KU goal. The Golden Bears followed a couple minutes later with an attempt off a corner kick that also went wide of junior Ashley Bilger's net.
Junior Toni Fiocco-Mizer did well to leap above a Kutztown defender and head a cross on goal, but the effort was straight at keeper Emme Wolfel. Graduate Abbey Dennis then thought she gave FSU the lead on 19 minutes, as she smacked a header headed into the back of the net, but a KU defender was well-placed to just clear the ball off the line and keep the game scoreless.
The intervention was important, as five minutes later, the Golden Bears got the opening goal after working a short corner, allowing Kayla Argen to whip a ball to the back post, which was met by Isabella Rossetti on a header into an open goal. KU kept up the pressure, forcing Bilger into a couple saves in search of doubling their lead. Sophomore Keely Knotts tried to equalize for the Bobcats with a shot from the far edge of the 18, but Wolfel had safe hands to collect the shot and prevent a rebound.
Kutztown got the goal they were looking for just two minutes before halftime, with Caroline McDonald surging down the right wing and putting a dangerous cross into the box, which took a deflection onto the foot of Argen, as the ball trickled past Bilger and nestled into the corner for a 2-0 lead.
Frostburg came out with renewed energy in the second half, pressuring KU high up the field in search of a way back into the game, but the Golden Bear defense stood firm and didn't allow FSU to register a shot. Kutztown eventually put the game essentially out of reach on 60 minutes, as Argen put another solid corner into the box, which was met at the back post by Becca Delp on a shot that had too much momentum for Frostburg to clear off the line to put the score at 3-0.
The Bobcats kept their heads high and gave full effort to take something from the game, with junior Lela Clark firing just high and sophomore Cat Smith stinging the fists of Wolfel, but just couldn't find the back of the net. Bilger made a fantastic one-on-one save just over 81 minutes in, sliding out to prevent a fourth KU goal. Smith was inches away from a stunner, as she stung a shot that cannoned off the underside of the crossbar, but was adjudged to not have crossed the goal line, ending the contest at 3-0 Golden Bears.
FSU had a narrow 13-12 advantage in shots, though Kutztown put six of their efforts on target, compared to just four for Frostburg.
The Bobcats' season ends at 18-2-2, while KU improves to 10-5-4 and advances to the second round against Gannon, who defeated Fairmont State in the final first round matchup.
This season's 18 wins tied a program record for victories in a single season, as Bilger also tied the goalkeeping single-season record for wins with 16 and shutouts with seven. It also was one of the best team defensive seasons in program history, as the 13 goals allowed are tied for the third-fewest in a single season and the 0.59 goals against average is tied for fourth all-time in school history.
