November 23rd, 2024 by WCBC Radio

Frostburg State Women's Soccer team saw their NCAA Tournament come to an end with a 4-1 first round loss to the second seed in the region and No. 5 in the country Gannon on Friday afternoon.

Within the first 30 seconds, GU had hit the ground running, with senior goalkeeper Katie Sterne forced into an early save on Brooklyn Respecki. Four minutes later, the Knights took advantage of a corner kick, with Jessie Watkins heading into the back of the net from a central area six yards out. Much of the half was played in FSU's defensive third, as the hosts doubled their lead on 12 minutes when Jamie Seneca cracked a half-volley from outside the box just in between the crossbar and near post.

The Bobcat defense had to be on high alert over the remaining half hour, getting in the way of five total Gannon shots in attempts to stay in the game. With five minutes until the half, Grace Emanuel found herself open in the box off a corner kick, but Sterne was quick off her line to make a save. Frostburg got away their first shot with 50 seconds left until the break, with junior Morgan Mrizek firing a left-footed effort from distance towards the bottom right corner that was smothered by Morgan Sinan.

As they had done in the first, the Knights began the second half on the front foot, putting a pair of efforts wide and forcing Sterne into another save within the first five minutes. Their pressure didn't let up, as four minutes later, Emanuel and Respecki fired in a pair of goals less than a minute apart to effectively put the result away 4-0.

FSU didn't give up the fight, as junior Mary Greco launched a free kick from 35 yards out towards the top corner that was parried away by Sinan. On the resulting corner, senior Mei Homman sent a ball into the center of the box, where after a scramble, freshman Mollie Rebuck was able to connect and lash it into the back of the net for a 4-1 score. GU continued to generate chances but were unable to hit the target, while the Bobcats' final pair of shots came from freshman Rayiah Davis putting one wide and senior Hannah Lebo firing right at Sinan to end the contest.

The Knights held a 25-5 advantage in shots, with seven on target to FSU's four.

With the loss, Frostburg ends their season at 15-4-2, while Gannon improves to 15-1-4 and moves on to host Kutztown in the Second Round.