FROSTBURG: On Wednesday, Frostburg State defeated Wheeling 4-1 thanks to an impressive second-half scoring performance.”We’re always pleased when we win at home,” Keith Byrnes, head coach of FSU, stated. “I felt like we did a decent job of trying to distance ourselves from them and coming out in the second half.
However, we were a touch careless at the rear, which allowed them to get back in. Thus, it was perhaps a bit more frenetic than necessary.” In the first 20 to 25 minutes, the Bobcats (6-1-1, 4-1-1 Mountain East Conference) had multiple opportunities, but they converted them into only two attempts.
Defense held from scoring
When Carlos Quintero Rivas went on a breakaway along the right sideline at 31:13, everything all changed. He crossed the ball for Laki Psallidas, who scored close to Frostburg’s bench and celebrated with almost the whole team. “We knew this was the type of game where the longer we let them stay in it, the more confidence they’d get, and the more frustrated we’d get” stated Byrnes.
“And that’s kinda what happened, one goal’s a little bit of a cushion, we knew we had to not make mistakes.” In the last fifteen minutes of the half, the Cardinals (0-7-2, 0-5-1 MEC) had the better of the chances, but the Bobcat defense held them off from scoring.
Wheeling had a 4-3 advantage in corners at the half, but Frostburg had a 5-2 advantage in shots and 3-0 advantage in shots on goal. After Abdur-Rahman Neama dribbled down the left sideline and fired a cross to Quintero Rivas, the Bobcats found the net again in just 2:31 of the second half.
He hit a shot down the middle from around twenty yards out. Byrnes stated, “It put in our minds, we can settle down.” “We don’t need to act frightened as though we’re up 1-0. We have been playing a lot of defense these past several games. We’re still up even if they get one, so I believe that gave them permission to try for the third.” After eight or so minutes, Frostburg got ready for a throw-in.
Teams involved in physical combat
Goalie Jan Foret of FSU stopped a cross from the Cardinals and passed the ball to a teammate.Seconds later, Andoni Oynesa intercepted it and sent a cross to Christian Ruud. The shot, which was around twenty yards away, rebounded high and back into the net. Byrnes remarked, “I thought they took advantage of our mistakes.”
“They worked steadily and at a good pace, in my opinion. So if we took our foot off the throttle, I think they made us pay for it.” The Bobcats replied with just over a minute left as Sebastian Vargas set up Dominic Good. To stop the score, he aimed in the left corner and fired into the bottom right. There were seven total yellow cards in the game, which involved physical combat.
The Cardinals received four calls, while the Bobcats received three. Despite the impression that a few were clear failures, Byrnes didn’t seem to be dissatisfied with the officiating. “It’s not officiating, a lot of it’s the decision making on the players,” Byrnes stated. That is fairly typical for our conference; it involves a lot of physical contact.
Nothing too drastic—you actually have no control over what the referees decide. We simply need to be more intelligent.” Wheeling held a 6-4 advantage in corner kicks, while Frostburg had a 13-9 advantage in shots and a 6-1 advantage in shots on goal at the end of play. While Foret stopped one shot for FSU, Brayden Scott recorded two saves for the Cardinals.