Blog Post #2

Bobs improve record to 8-2

On Wednesday March 13, the Bobcats faced their first top-10 ranked NCAA Division II opponent at home against then No. 9-ranked Bentley, falling 12-6 in a tough battle. Buckwalter led the scoring with a hat trick, while McCallum, Dort Jr., and Love each adding a goal. Junior Nate Jones set a career high in saves with 18 against the top-ranked Falcons’ offense. Catch the highlights from the ranked matchup below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4DAAGQ-Za4

In the next game on Saturday March 16, Frostburg State recognized the Morgan’s Message campaign for their game at Bobcat Stadium against St. Thomas Aquinas. The game commemorated former Duke Women’s Lacrosse player Morgan Rogers and highlighted the importance of mental health awareness in sports. In the 15-2 victory that opened up ECC play, both sides of the ball overwhelmed the Spartans. It was a team effort behind the scoring, Love leading with four goals and McCallum, Buckwalter, Mullineaux, Sipes, Walstrum, Sykes, Karotko, and Dooley tacking on the rest. The balanced scoring was due behind a dominant performance on the faceoff circle, where Walstrum and Dort Jr. won 14 out of 15. The defense shut out the Spartans until the fourth quarter and forced 16 caused turnovers.

The team followed up their win over the Spartans by hitting the road against Wilmington at historic Homewood Field in Baltimore, Maryland on March 20. Opened in 1906 and home to Johns Hopkins University, the field is known as one of the most prestigious and definitive lacrosse venues in the entire United States. In this neutral location, the Bobcats battled it out to a narrow victory, 13-12. Buckwalter had an impressive day with 8 total points, 6 goals, and 2 assists. On the other side of the field, the Bobcat defense collected 15 caused turnovers and goalie Jones made 8 clutch saves to defeat the Wildcats. See an Instagram highlight reel of the game here.

In their second ECC matchup of the season, Frostburg State traveled to Rockville Centre, New York to face Molloy University on March 23. The Bobcats travelled home victorious in another nail-biter, 12-11. This time, the Bobs came back from a seven-goal deficit in the second quarter to get the win, scoring six goals in the final frame. It was the largest comeback victory since 2011. Sipes led the scoring with 4 goals and Love added 2, while a host of other players contributed goals. In the net, goalie Jones amassed 12 saves to allow the Bobcats to crawl out of the seven-goal hole.

The Bobcats stayed on the road for their next game against Davis & Elkins in West Virginia on March 27, coming away with a dominant 22-4 win against the Senators.

Finally, Frostburg State returned to Bobcat Stadium on March 30 to face Lake Erie for the commemorative Love Strong game. The team recognized the LoveStrong51 foundation, which brings awareness to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of testicular cancer. In another suffocating win, the Bobcats came out on top 20-6. Frostburg State started aggressively with 5 straight goals in the first 10 minutes of the game. Love had 5 goals on the day and the faceoff men combined to go an excellent 26 for 29 in the circle.

With a current record of 8-2, Frostburg State next travels to Rochester on April 6 to face Roberts Wesleyan in another ECC match up.

Strength and Conditioning helps the Bobcats to Plant The Flag

In a physically demanding sport like lacrosse, strength and conditioning are two key elements that the Bobcats have focused on to stay ahead of the competition. By building muscle, increasing agility, and improving cardiovascular endurance, the entire team can see their maximum potential at practice, and more importantly, during each game.

Kyle Linhart, the Director of Strength and Conditioning/Fitness, said that the approach for building athlete strength is individualized. “We do what each athlete needs to do, since there are guys on different levels,” he said. Due to their large roster size, not every athlete plays the same number of minutes per game—this means that regular starters do slightly different workouts than those that do not each week. Although many of the athletes are not doing the same exact thing in the weight room each week, it still allows the team to grow and improve throughout the entirety of the season.

“The goal is to make sure that the team is always continually improving,” Linhart continued. No matter what level each player is on, they are always able to flourish and grow in the gym each week, which supplements the level of play in both practice and games.

In the offseason and the preseason, the Bobcats lift three times per week to build as much strength and conditioning as possible before the start of the busy season. This number is reduced to two as games fill the schedule, allowing for the strength to be maintained as necessary. “Each week, we have lifts that can be adjusted for each athlete,” Linhart explained. “Each coach on the staff is in-the-know, and we have phases pre-planned at the beginning of the season.”

Since the number of games that are played each week fluctuates throughout the approximately three-month season, lifts can be adjusted to the needs of the athletes and how they are feeling each time they come into the weight room. Additionally, Head Coach Gartelman works with Coach Linhart to give his two-cents on how the team as a whole is feeling and looking in practice and how that can translate into lifting weights.

During the ECC Championship week, the strength and conditioning schedule is altered even further to allow for the team to perform at its peak. “At that point, we will taper off at a volume standpoint to keep their muscles fresh,” Linhart said.

In a study conducted by Lindenwood University, researchers found that strength and conditioning improved certain aspects of lacrosse athletes’ play on the field. “The results of this study indicate that the preseason strength and conditioning programs for both teams were proven to be effective at improving strength, speed, power, and agility across each of the three testing dates,” the university said. The study also found an improvement in a 40-yard dash, timed 5-10-5 agility drill, vertical jump, 1 rep max on bench press, and 1 rep max squat.

This scientific study shows not only the usefulness of strength and conditioning, but the crucial role that it has in a successful lacrosse season.

Overall, the number one goal for success in the weight room is to translate that hard work into success on the field for the Bobs—and emerge victorious in each game—a key component of the program's efforts to Plant The Flag.