ELKINS, W. Va. – The Frostburg State men's lacrosse team picked up its second straight road win with a 23-8 decision on Wednesday over Davis & Elkins.
Having lost the opening face-off, the Bobcats didn't waste any time getting the ball back, as senior Matt Williams came up with a caused turnover and groundball, leading to junior Baylor Davis scoring of an assist from senior Sean Mullineaux. Freshman Ayden Viscount would go perfect at the X for the rest of the first quarter, helping the Bobcats control the ball, with junior Luke Roach netting a solo goal and Mullineaux scoring his first on a feed from junior Hayden Celio in a 90-second span. Two and a half minutes later, senior Will Stephanos picked up a CT and led the offensive charge himself, firing wide before Celio turned provider again, this time to junior Jack Hooks for a 4-0 lead. Another pair of Senator turnovers, once caused by Stephanos, led to Celio picking up his third assist to junior Henry Sykes, as the former then put home a pair of goals himself to take a 7-0 advantage following the first 15 minutes.
D&E would respond to open the second, making a save that led to their opening goal to make the game 7-1. The Bobcats would quickly answer, scoring two goals in the next minute of play, with freshman Keegan Green being found by sophomore Jackson Kanzler, who then netted one of his own, each the first of their FSU careers. Following another pair of Senators saves halfway through the quarter, the hosts would score again, the lead now 9-2. It would be another fast Frostburg response out of sophomore Payton Dean winning the next face-off, with Sykes putting one home. Over the final eight minutes of the frame, neither side troubled the opposing goalkeeper much, with just one combined save before Sykes broke through again for an 11-2 halftime lead.
Within 30 seconds of the third, Davis & Elkins scored another opening goal to cut the deficit down to eight. The next six minutes were dominated by FSU, spreading the ball around with five straight goals from four different scorers. Sophomores Daimon Spriggs and Kobe Link joined freshman Alex Tyler and junior Wyatt Dooley in finding the back of the cage, putting the score at 16-3. D&E would score again with under five to play, though the Bobcats would have the final two scores of the period, with Dooley and freshman RJ Wilhelm making it 18-4 to end the third.
After three scoreless minutes to start the fourth, Link passed to Tyler to finish home, then freshman Gavin Weaver netted either side of Wilhelm finding freshman Cam Webb to grow the lead to 22-4. The Senators would end the game with four of the final five goals, as Wilhelm tacked on Frostburg's final tally to come away with a 23-8 victory.
Tyler and Celio led FSU with five points apiece, both going for a pair of goals and a trio of assists, while Sykes netted a hat trick. Stephanos and juniors Jack Smith and Ryder Walter each contributed two caused turnovers, with the latter scooping up three groundballs. Viscount went 13-of-15 on faceoffs and picked up a team high six groundballs, as the Bobcats dominated in the X, winning 27 out of 34.
The win moves the Bobcats to 2-2 on the year, while D&E drops to 0-4. FSU will have another tough test when it travels to third-ranked Saint Anselm on Sunday, March 1 for a 12 p.m. start. For more information please visit frostburgsports.com.
