FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Men's Lacrosse team fell just shy of the victory, falling to Molloy at home in overtime by a score of 15-14 on Saturday afternoon.
Frostburg started off strong, scoring the first goal of the competition. Coming out of a timeout called by Malloy, junior Austin Sipes found the back of the net off an assist from senior Jake Bowman. FSU would score another goal putting them up 2-0, as senior Tanner Donaldson fired one in the top left corner after Bowman scooped a ground ball and fed Donaldson. The Lions were quick to respond, as nearly 30 seconds later Sean Plasencia put Malloy on the score board on an unassisted goal. Molloy was quick to tie the game 2-2, after Christian Michaels picked up a ground ball that started the momentum for the Lions, and off the clear attempt, found Chris Delaney who assisted Ryan Downing for the game tying goal. The Lions went on to take the lead late in the first, as Mikey Rodin scored on a pass from Plasencia. FSU would not let Molloy run away with it, as Bowman was able to score, tying the game up 3-3 right at the end of the first.
The second quarter was less of a battle, as Molloy decided to take over, scoring the only four goals of the quarter. The Bobcats had eight looks at goal, but were unable to capitalize, heading into the second half down 7-3.
Molloy kept their same momentum to open the second haf, as they were able to score the first two goals of the quarter, increasing their lead to 9-3. After a short dry spell, the Bobcats were able to find a goal, as junior Cole Blanche capitalized on a man-down opportunity making the score 9-4 at the 9:54 mark in the third. On the same man down opportunity and just 15 seconds later, senior Evan Dere won the face off, and fed sophomore Seamus Kearney to cut Frostburg's deficit to four. The Lions quickly answered back, scoring back-to-back goals of their own, to bring the game to 11-5. Senior Bubba Love got in on the scoring action, making a strong cut across the zone for a perfect feed from Bowman for the Bobcats sixth goal of the day. Molloy quickly responded with a terrific goal of their own, as Delaney connected on a shot from 40 yards out to increase the Lions lead to six with 6:32 left in the quarter. FSU responded winning the next faceoff, as Bowman found himself with two shots on goal, connecting on the second, to bring the game to 12-7. The Lions refused to let Frostburg get any closer, scoring one more goal to end the quarter and bring the game 13-7 in favor of Molloy heading into the final quarter of play.
Both teams were fighting for the victory in the fourth, as both teams accumulated a few goals and a few penalties. Down six goals, Frostburg rallied to score the first four goals of the quarter on two goals from Bowman, one from Sipes, and one from Donaldson. Trying to secure their lead, Molloy came out of a timeout firing away at the goal, finding the back of the net once more for a 14-12 game. With time and hope winding down for the Bobcats, senior Owen McCallum stepped up big for Frostburg scoring a goal with 22 seconds left, and recording the game tying goal with six seconds left remaining in regulation, to send the game into overtime with a score of 14-14.
To start overtime, Frostburg was called for a violation in the faceoff, allowing Molloy to start with the ball. The Lions would take their time running down the shot clock in order to run the perfect play, as they were able to slice the ball into the net on the first possession of the game, allowing FSU's comeback to fall just short with the game ending 15-14 in favor of Molloy.
Bowman led the way on offense for the Bobcats setting the single-season scoring record with five goals, giving him a total of 52 on the season, breaking Paul Ruppert's record of 48 set in 2019. Bowman also tallied four assists and four groundballs for a total of nine points on the day. McCallum, Sipes, and Donaldson all knotted a pair of goals with McCallum recording a pair of groundballs as well. Despite the loss, graduate Mitch Meckley made 11 saves in goal.
With the conclusion of today's game, FSU falls to a record of 10-3 on the season while Malloy moves to 8-6. The Bobcats are back in action on Saturday, April 22 as they travel to Erie, PA to take on Mercyhurst for a 1 pm start time. For more information visit frostburgsports.com
