FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Field Hockey team fell 4-1 to No. 1 Shippensburg after a hard-fought game on Wednesday afternoon.
FSU played the contest as its annual Pink Game to begin October in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month.
The beginning of the first quarter was positive for the Bobcats, as they held possession and moved into SU's territory but were unable to get an early shot. At the other end, senior Zoe Barnes made a clean kick save off a Raider chance. Three minutes later, an SU giveaway at the back allowed freshman Makenna Buffington to play to a wide open junior Emma Price, finishing in front of a near-empty goal for a shock 1-0 lead. It was less than two minutes later when Shippensburg responded with a goal of their own on penalty corner where Emily Bitters passed to Savannah Silvestre to fire into the top left corner of the cage. Later in the frame, SU managed three shots, one saved on the line by junior Morgan Sparks and another shut down by Barnes, but it was the third that made it into the goal, giving the Raiders a 2-1 lead going into the second quarter.
Shippensburg wasted little time getting an insurance goal, with Lilly Cantabene netting just over a minute into the second period. The quarter wasn't too eventful for either team, with only two shots taken the entire frame, both by SU and saved by Barnes within the first seven minutes.FSU was held without a shot of their own, leaving the Raiders with a 3-1 lead at the break.
To start the third quarter, there were a flurry of chances within the first couple minutes, as SU had an effort blocked and another swatted away by Barnes, then a shot by senior Paige Leitzel was saved in hopes of getting the Bobcats back in the game, while junior Bri Macchia then saw hers blocked. The Raiders began to gain control once again for the next eight minutes, putting a shot wide before Anne Gardner put home the visitors' fourth of the day, while Barnes made another pair of stops. FSU had several chances all within a couple minutes, as they won four straight corners, from which senior Aubree Dorsey had two shots blocked and another saved, while junior Piper Taylor was also denied. Barnes made one final save before the end of the frame with Shippensburg leading 4-1.
With the Raiders pressing to generate more offense, FSU persevered and stepped up their defense. SU had eight shots in the fourth quarter, but none found the cage thanks to Barnes' saves, a couple efforts blocked, and Taylor coming up with a defensive save. Frostburg's offense gave one last chance to Price, who was excellently found by freshman Caroline Earnshaw down the pitch, but couldn't get enough stick on the shot, which went wide of the goal.
SU held a 24-8 advantage in shots, with 16 of them being on target compared to FSU's four.
The loss moves the Bobcats' record to 2-8, meanwhile the Raiders improve to 9-0. Frostburg is back on the field on Saturday, October 4, at 5 PM at Bobcat Stadium for their Homecoming game, as they take on Mansfield. For more information, visit frostburgsports.com.
