October 1st, 2023 by WCBC Radio
Frostburg State Women's Soccer team lost a tightly-contested home game to No. 15 Charleston (WV) by a 1-0 score line.
Prior to the match, FSU honored seven of its players who are rounding out their Bobcat careers on senior day in Ashley Bilger, Kayla Robinson, Keely Knotts, Hannah Thompson, Lela Clark, Toni Fiocco-Mizer, and Dez Mortimer.
The top two sides in the MEC proved their mettle in the opening minutes, as UC won the game's first corner kick six minutes in, before junior Madi Allen got a shot away that was saved by Jordan Maynard in goal two minutes later. Bilger was forced into her first save just over 14 minutes in, needing to dive to her right to prevent a ball sneaking inside the post. Allen had a breakaway five minutes after, but on her left foot couldn't generate the power needed to beat Maynard as the match remained scoreless.
Charleston began to turn up the pressure, firing off four shots in five minutes, with Bilger making a pair of saves as the visitors looked to open the scoring. The combination of Frostburg's keeper and the back line kept the Golden Eagle attack at bay, allowing FSU to work their way back into the match. After a routine save from Bilger with just over 10 minutes until the half, junior Cat Smith came forward and put in a shot from distance that was corralled by Maynard, taking the sides into the half at 0-0 after a late shot straight at Bilger.
Frostburg took the upper hand to start the second half, with Fiocco-Mizer forcing Maynard into a couple saves, the latter of which she just couldn't poke past after a breakaway chance. Allen then saw another effort saved, with FSU looking the likelier side to score. That changed 15 minutes into the half, as a UC counterattack put the ball in the box, where the referee blew for a foul, giving the visitors a chance to take the lead from the spot. Laura Vierhout stepped up and shot just past a diving Bilger into the bottom left corner for a 1-0 lead.
As the clock ticked down, FSU began to throw everything they could at the Charleston goal in search of an equalizer. Sophomore Carly Gillette had a pair of shots from distance that were both collected by Maynard, then freshman Madison Hinton also shot too close to the Golden Eagle keeper. Gillette was almost gifted the tying goal, as her left-footed shot from just outside the 18 curled narrowly the wrong side of the post, as Maynard slipped and wouldn't have had a chance to save. In the final minute and a half, Allen had one last chance to earn the draw, as Smith's header found her in the center of the box, but she couldn't get the power needed on her left foot to find the back of the net. Bilger made a fine late save to deny Charleston a second goal, but the 15th ranked team in Division II was able to pull away with the 1-0 victory.
The Bobcats outshot UC 16-13, with ten efforts on goal compared to seven. Maynard earned the clean sheet with 10 saves, while Bilger made six in the FSU goal.
With the loss, Frostburg falls to 8-1 on the year, while Charleston improves to 7-0-2. The Bobcats return to the road for their next match on Wednesday, October 4 to face Davis & Elkins at 5 p.m. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.
