FROSTBURG, Md. - The Frostburg State Men's Soccer team settles in as the No. 4 seed in the Mountain East Conference Tournament, as they host the No. 5 seed West Liberty in the quarterfinals.  
 
How They Got Here: Frostburg comes in with a 9-7-1 overall record, and a 7-6-1 MEC record.  The Bobcats started the season 5-1 for their best start since the 2015 season.  This is the first time the program has hosted a playoff game since joining Division II in 2019.  
 
West Liberty enters the contest with a 6-9-3 record for a 4-8-2 mark in conference play.  WLU started their season a little slow, not earning a win until their fourth match of the season when the team defeated Salem. 
 
The Matchup: The Hilltoppers hold the series advantage with a record of 5-3-3.  FSU took the first meeting between the two teams this season with a 2-1 victory on the road on September 25, while WLU got revenge in the teams next meeting on October 19, taking the match also by a score of 2-1.  Frostburg's win this year over West Liberty was the team's first victory over the Hilltoppers since the 2021 regular season. 
 
The Players: Frostburg is led on the attack by their lone First Team All-MEC member junior Carlos Quintero Rivas, who leads the team in goals with nine, while dishing out two assists and seeing a total of a team-high 32 shots during the regular season.  Spreading throughout the field are Second Team All-MEC honorees seniors Mateo Cuadros and Caleb Dell, with the former leading the team in assists with 10 at the midfielder position, while Dell, who leads the team in minutes with 1,350 minutes and suffered a season-ending leg injury, led the Bobcats backline all season to the fourth least goals in the league, while also providing three goals and two assists on the offensive end.  Freshman Jan Foret, another Second Team All-MEC member for Frostburg, stands in goal with 56 total saves on the season for a .737 save percentage and 1.45 goals against average.  Senior Alex Retzos, who received All-MEC Honorable Mention, also sits at midfield with the second-most minutes played on the team and 17 starts, while All-MEC Freshman Team member Andrew Denard provided on the backend in all 17 games this season as a starting defender with three goals and one assist in his first collegiate season
 
West Liberty is led by All-MEC Honorable Mention honoree Zach Forehand up front in the forward position, as he leads the team in both goals (6) and assists (7), having ripped 51 total shots during the regular season.  Other All-MEC Honorable Mention members, midfielder Jasper Newton and defender Cormac McGinley, have helped lead the Hilltoppers to a spot in the playoffs, both providing solid minutes in their position all season long.  Newton sits with the second-most minutes played on the season tallying a goal, while McGinley has led WLU to the fourth best goal against average in the league.  Also providing on defense is All-MEC Freshman Lachlan Quate, who played in all 17 games so far, and scored one goal. 
 
The Rest of the Field: The quarterfinals being with No. 6 West Virginia Wesleyan traveling to the No. 3 seed of Davis & Elkins today at 2 PM.  The winner of Frostburg and West Liberty will prepare to face the No. 1 seed Charleston on the road, while the winner of Davis & Elkins and Wesleyan will play at No. 2 Concord. 
 
2024 MEC Men's Soccer Championship
Sunday, November 10 - QUARTERFINALS
#6 West Virginia Wesleyan vs #3 Davis & Elkins – 2 PM
#5 West Liberty vs #4 Frostburg State – 6:30 PM
 
Wednesday, November 13 – SEMIFINALS
Winner of FSU/WLU vs #1 Charleston – 7 PM
Winner of D&E/WVWC vs #2 Concord – 7 PM
 
Sunday, November 17 - CHAMPIONSHIP
Championship @ Highest Remaining Seed - TBA