WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Frostburg State broke up a defensive battle with a three-goal burst just before halftime here Sunday afternoon and went on to claim a 3-0 victory against West Liberty in Mountain East Conference men's soccer action at the West Family Athletic Complex.
      Coach Sean Regan's Hilltoppers (0-3-0, 0-3-0) had battled the Bobcats (1-1-1, 1-0-1) on virtually even terms for much of the first half when FSU's Tamino Brown found Randy Putnam inside the six for a point-blank score in the 35th minute.
      That was only the third shot of the match for the visitors but it seemed to open the floodgates as Brown tacked on another goal just over a minute later when he collected a ball just outside the box and drove it into the net for a 2-0 lead.
      A foul in the box gave Frostburg State a penalty kick in the 42nd minute and Bobby Riffle converted for what turned out to be an insurmountable 3-0 lead.
      The match got a bit chippy after intermission as the two teams combined for seven yellow cards on the day with six bookings coming in the final 45 minutes.
      Despite the three-goal deficit, the youthful West Liberty squad battled to the end and created its two best scoring chances in the waning minutes.
      Daniel Rovira put a shot on frame in the 81st minute that was turned aside by Frostburg State keeper Joel Assal. Josh Yeaman took a well-served corner kick from Rovira and redirected it on net in the 88th minute but once more Assal was up to the task, preserving the shutout for the visitors.
      The Hilltoppers will be back in action on Thursday when they host perennial Atlantic Region power Notre Dame (Ohio) in a 7:30 p.m. match under the lights at the West Family Athletic Complex.
  Frostburg State                                          3  0 – 3
West Liberty                                              0  0 – 0         FSU: Randy Putnam (Tamino Brown), 34:28
        FSU: Tamino Brown (unassisted), 35:45
        FSU: Bobby Riffle (penalty kick), 41:33         Shots: Frostburg State 7, West Liberty 2
        Saves: Frostburg State 2 (Joel Assal 2), West Liberty 0
        Corners: Frostburg State 0, West Liberty 3
A: 115