Davis sends FSU women's soccer to MEC championship game

FROSTBURG — For the first time since 2023, the Frostburg State women’s soccer team will advance to the Mountain East Conference championship game after defeating Point Park 1-0 in the semifinals at Bobcat Stadium Wednesday. Frostburg came into the game as MEC North Division champions at a 14-2-3 record, having advanced past Charleston 6-5 on penalties after a 0-0 draw in regulation during the quarterfinals. Point Park earned the three seed in the North, going 13-5-1 on the year and defeating Glenville State 1-0 in its quarterfinal bout. The Pioneers generated the first couple chances of the game after just two minutes, earning a corner kick from which Austyn Burkett had her header cleared off the line by junior Madison Hobson, then the follow-up from Jamie Spurrell was blocked by the Bobcat defense. After 10 minutes of back-and-forth possession, Frostburg kicked into gear with a flurry of chances over a three-minute spell. Senior Chelsea Pettyjohn laid a ball over for junior Rayiah Davis, who put her effort over the bar, then her twin sister, Ana, hit a rocket from 35 yards out that clipped off the top of the crossbar. Soon after, Hobson took a throw that was headed back by junior Cassidy Paige into the path of classmate Mollie Rebuck, as her left-footed blast was tipped onto the bar by keeper Nicole Kuchinski to keep things scoreless. Rayiah Davis then had a pair of shots as a result of back-to-back corners, with one being deflected out and the next going wide. Point Park managed to get an effort off just before the 20-minute mark, with Julie Rusiecki’s long free kick being collected safely by senior Mia Graff, as senior Madison Hinton also tried her luck on one but hit it high and wide. Frostburg’s breakthrough finally came after 24 minutes, as another Hinton free kick was played by a Pioneers defender off of Paige and right into the path of Rayiah Davis, who calmly finished past Kuchinski for a 1-0 lead. Frosburg held an 18-9 advantage in shots, with both sides putting five on target. In a couple of milestone moments, Graff’s shutout was her 10th of the season, which ties her with former standout Ashley Bilger’s program record set in 2023. Additionally, Paige recorded her 10th assist of the season, the most by a Bobcat since Stephanie Fazenbaker’s 15 in 2012. With the win, Frostburg improves to 15-2-3 on the year, while Point Park drops to 13-6-1. The Bobcats will next host the two seed in the North Division and No. 24 nationally ranked Fairmont State in the MEC Championship Game Sunday at 1 p.m. Men’s soccer season ends CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Frostburg State men’s soccer team saw its season come to a close with a 1-0 loss on the road to No. 4 Charleston in the MEC semifinals Wednesday. After defeating Salem at home in the quarterfinals, the Bobcats drew the top-ranked team from the South Division in Charleston, which earned a bye into the semifinals via its regular-season title. The lone goal was scored 30 minutes into the game. Charleston had one shot blocked with the rebound being worked back out wide, as a cross came into Tomas Petrungaro, whose deflected effort fell right into the path of Martin Echarren, who fired it home. Now needing to find a response, the Bobcats had a fantastic chance to equalize three minutes later, as Frank Stare ran in behind the defense to latch onto a long ball but could only shoot right at Golden Eagles goalie Luka Felix. Charleston held a 12-6 advantage in shots, putting five on target to Frostburg’s two. With the loss, Frostburg finishes its season at 8-5-6 overall, as Charleston moves onto the MEC championship game at Davis & Elkins with a record of 16-2-0. The five losses are the fewest for the Bobcats since 2015, which also was the last time that the program had allowed fewer than this campaign’s 21 goals defensively.