Sep. 19—FROSTBURG — Allegany High graduate Mason Salvadge scored his first collegiate goal, and it was the difference in Frostburg State’s 2-1 victory over Salem on Wednesday.
“We had some guys step up with some guys out today,” FSU head coach Keith Byrnes said. “The response was good, to come back and get two and a win. Sometimes you gotta win when you don’t play your best. I feel we did that today.”
For the first 20 minutes, the Tigers (1-4) controlled possession and limited the Bobcats (3-1) opportunities to set up its offense.
Salem struck first about seven minutes into the game, when Aldair Cardenas set up Josue Villegas for a tap-in score.
“The intensity wasn’t there, we played a little slow, they played a little faster, a little harder,” Byrnes said. “Kept us in the back foot and took advantage of it.”
About 10 minutes later, the Bobcats answered.
Abdur-Rahman Neama began the play on a throw-in, then Caleb Dell assisted Andrew Denard for a tap-in goal to tie the score.
Neama and Dell each received an assist.
“It just builds confidence, we’re back in it,” Byrnes said. “We weren’t at our best, but it’s a tie game and anything can happen.”
Tied at 1 going into halftime, Salvadge came through early in the second half.
At the 51:24 mark, Dominic Good sent a cross to Salvadge, who fired from about 15 yards out for the game’s eventual winning score.
“It was amazing, it was a great pass from Dom,” Salvadge said. “Seba (Vargas) just let it go through his legs. I just hit it into the corner and it was a great feeling.”
Salvadge was the Area co-Offensive Player of the Year last season with Fort Hill’s Liam Hamilton.
He was second on the Campers with 16 goals and led Alco with 15 assists.
Salvadge was one of the stars on Allegany’s squad that went 18-1 and reached its first state title game in school history.
The Campers went 18 games and over 1,500 minutes without trailing before falling in the championship game 2-0 to Harford Tech.
“He brings a great work rate,” Byrnes said of Salvadge. “Everyday, doesn’t matter if he’s playing or not, he’s gonna put his shift in. Just waiting for his opportunity, took advantage of it today.”
Now leading 2-1, Frostburg’s defense took over in the final 30 minutes.
After Salvadge’s goal, the Tigers were held to six shots as the Bobcats controlled possession for the remainder of the game.
“The defense has been pretty strong all year,” Byrnes said. “We had a couple guys out tonight, it’s good for guys to get into that energy that we gotta defend, we gotta stay connected, we gotta be organized. They do a good job, played simple and smart when they needed to.”
Each team took 12 shots while Salem had a 5-3 edge in shots on goal.
Frostburg finished with a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Brennan Moore saved four shots for the Bobcats, three coming after halftime.
“He stepped up, Brennan’s been in there before, so we have confidence in him,” Byrnes said. “The goal, I didn’t think there was anything he could’ve done. I think that was a defensive breakdown. After that, he came up with the saves when we needed them.”
Jason Barrientos stopped one shot for the Tigers.
Frostburg heads to No. 20 Davis & Elkins on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Jordan Kendall is a Sports Writer for the Cumberland Times-News. Email him with scores and story suggestions at jkendall@times-news.com.
