Frostburg State University Athletics

FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Women's Soccer team handed No. 19 Fairmont State their first loss of the season in a 1-0 final for their sixth straight shutout victory on Wednesday night to take MEC North Division title heading into the Conference Tournament. 

Senior goalkeeper Mia Graff was called into early action, as just over three minutes in, a long free kick found the knee of Sam Yuen, whose goal-bound effort was narrowly tipped away for a corner. Almost ten minutes later, junior Rayiah Davis gathered a loose ball at midfield and sent it behind the defense to classmate Cassidy Paige, who took it the rest of the way, sprinting past the retreating Falcons and lining her shot into the left side of the net to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead. 

Fairmont immediately went in search of an equalizer in the next two minutes, as Arrington Sparks lofted a long ball that Graff was able to cleanly catch, then Yuen got her head to another free kick, again being denied by the Frostburg netminder. Senior Madison Hinton then took a chance from about 30 yards out, as her high effort into the box missed to the left. Nearing the halfway point, Hinton hit a free kick right into Falcon goalkeeper Olivia Johnston's chest before a Fairmont set piece again found Yuen who couldn't beat Graff.

Another eight minutes passed before Dahlia Welter send a 25-yard strike directly to Graff, then Emelly Chicas had an effort blocked for the visitors. In the final five minutes, Hinton played a perfectly-weighted pass through to sophomore Emma Hostetler, looking for the back post but shooting too close to Johnston, then Fairmont ended the half with a shot missing wide left, keeping Frostburg up 1-0. 

The Falcons came out with plenty of energy to start the second half, not allowing the Bobcats a single touch in their offensive third and pressing high up the pitch. Frostbug's defense was up to the task, however, as the visitors' only chance came from a free kick that went right at Graff. After surviving the early pressure, the Bobcats settled in, as Davis saw her shot deflected for a corner, from which Hinton planted a header wide.

The next 20 minutes passed without a chance from either side, as Frostburg's defense parried away each Fairmont attack and rarely allowed opportunities on goal. Junior Ainsley Wilson would finally get a shot away, sending a ball in from the top right corner of the 18 into the arms of Johnston. With under 15 minutes remaining, the Falcons were able to generate a pair of chances, with the first shot blocked and the second a weak effort right at Graff. For the rest of the game, neither team sent off a shot, as the Falcons kept pressuring but Frostburg's defense held firm, keeping them away from the net and any chance to tie before the clock hit zero for the division-clinching Bobcat victory.

Fairmont had a 10-7 advantage in shots, with seven being on target to Frostburg's four. 

With the win, the Bobcats conclude the regular season at 14-2-2, as the Falcons finish at 14-1-3. Frostburg will next host the MEC Tournament Quarterfinals on Sunday, November 1 at 2 p.m. against the four seed from the South Division, Charleston (WV). For more information, please visit frostburgsports.com.