Frostburg State University Athletics

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio – The Frostburg State Men's Soccer team engineered a second half comeback in their 4-2 road victory over Shawnee State on Sunday afternoon.
 
Five minutes into the contest, FSU earned a corner that was met by the head of sophomore Spencer Davis, with the effort going just over the bar. Two minutes later, SSU got a corner of their own, with a volley from the edge of the 18 going just past the upper left corner of the goal. On the resulting goal kick, a Bobcat giveaway at the back allowed Yuri Neeve space and time to take a touch eight yards from goal, putting home the game's opener.
 
Trying to use the goal as some momentum, the Bears tried their luck from distance but put the effort well wide of goal. Frostburg was nearly gifted an equalizer five minutes later, as sophomore Christ Fopossi made a run down the left wing and sent a cross in that deflected off a Shawnee defender, just clipping over the crossbar and out for a corner.
 
SSU then locked down defensively for the next 30 minutes, not allowing FSU a single shot at goal in the frame. Seeking to double their lead in attack, the Bears forced graduate Josiah Emerson into a pair of saves two minutes apart. In the final 15 minutes, a Shawnee effort went high over the bar while another just missed to the left, then on a counterattack, Mario Sanz drew a diving stop by Emerson, with the rebound falling right to Neeve for his second of the day and a 2-0 halftime lead for the hosts.
 
Frostburg came out with a completely different energy in the second half, as 90 seconds in, sophomore Diego Peralta made an early run down the right side and was brought down just outside the box. Graduate Kevin Garcia-Torres drove the free kick in on the ground as junior Dom Good made a great run to get free and finish home to cut the deficit in half. Continuing to keep the pressure on, the Bobcats thought they evened things up four minutes later, but an offside call ruled out freshman Lynghton Romage's effort.
 
After fending off a Shawnee corner, FSU earned one of their own almost immediately, where Davis planted a header on goal that was palmed away by keeper Floyd Watts. A minute later, sophomore Nate Kennedy had a blast from the edge of the area that Watts dove to his left for amidst more Frostburg attacking play. From the resulting corner, sophomore Frank Stare floated the ball to the back post, where freshman Abdallah Soulemana rose highest of any player to plant the ball in the net and tie things up at 2-2.
 
Looking to restore some balance to the game, the Bears had a counter and space to work with but decided to try and catch Emerson off his line, with the shot never going near the goal. With 20 minutes gone in the half, Garcia-Torres nearly picked up his second assist of the day, playing a perfectly-weighted ball through to Good behind the defense, but with an onrushing Watts, he could only chip the ball just outside of the post.
 
Two minutes later, sophomore Inzaghi Harmon made a fantastic turn at midfield, getting his head up to find Stare making a run down the middle, as his goal-bound effort was straight at Watts still unable to find the go-ahead score. Shawnee had a rare look at goal with just under 20 minutes left to play but the shot was dragged well wide. Frostburg then had a free kick launched all the way from their own half onto the head of Romage but he lacked the power necessary to beat Watts.
 
Approaching the final 15 minutes, Emerson was called into action for the first time in the second period, making a safe catch on a driven shot from 25 yards out. Three minutes later, Harmon looked to make a charging run into the box from the left wing but had his shirt pulled and was brought down for a free kick just outside the 18. Senior Anthony Diaz stepped up and forced Watts to punch his shot away, then after stopping a Bears counterattack, Peralta played an excellent ball through to Harmon, who couldn't beat Watts at his near post.
 
With 10 minutes on the clock, sophomore David Williams collected a loose ball out of a scramble from a throw and beat two defenders to the byline, as a pair of deflections eventually allowed the ball to find Harmon, who ripped home a first-touch volley to complete the comeback and give the Bobcats a 3-2 lead. Desperate to get something out of the game, SSU sent a cross-turned-shot towards goal that Emerson had to catch cleanly with three attackers lurking for any scraps.
 
After the Bears were awarded a free kick two minutes later, several heads went up to meet the ball, as a deflection took it towards the bottom right corner but was gathered by Emerson. Shortly thereafter, Diaz had a clearance over top that was well-taken down by Harmon, as he passed to his right for Stare to cut in on his left foot, firing past Watts to essentially clinch victory with the Bobcats' fourth of the day. Shawnee had a pair of last-ditch efforts in the final couple minutes, with one bending shot going just over the bar and Emerson making a flying save on a hit from deep to preserve the 4-2 win.
 
Both sides had 15 shots in the contest, with FSU putting 12 on target to the hosts' nine, while also having a 13-6 advantage in second half efforts.
 
With the result, Frostburg improves to 6-2-4 on the year, while SSU drops to 3-8-2. The Bobcats will remain on the road as they travel to West Liberty on Wednesday, October 14 for a 7:30 p.m. kick-off. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.