FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Women's Rugby team started their second season off with a convincing win over Emory & Henry on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Wasps 39-5 in the team's season opener.

Due to weather conditions, the game was played across four 20-minute quarters rather than a standard match of two 40-minute halves. The first quarter consisted of back and forth play for a while, with both teams initiating scrums. Frostburg kept possession on their offensive half for most of the first, until E&H put together a drive down field around the 13:40 mark. Freshman Kathryn Scully made a tremendous effort on defense, forcing the Wasps to turn the ball over as it ended up in the hands of junior Molly Wentling. The Bobcats came up just short of a try, closing in on the endzone before E&H stood in the way, as the Wasps regained possession trying to push the ball to midfield. FSU took the ball right back, trying to put some numbers on the board to round out the quarter, as the first ended in a tie 0-0.

The Bobcats kicked off to start the second, with the first scrum coming at the 18:25 mark. The Wasps successfully sent the ball into touch a minute later, before senior Lydia Hall made a solid tackle to keep E&H on their defensive half. Moments later, sophomore Birtukan Sherburne picked up the ball, looking to pass to her teammates down field, but Frostburg was unable to put a run together, turning the ball over to the Wasps. E&H was able to march downfield, still looking for either teams first points of the day, as freshman Makenzie Link stood in the way of a pass, regaining possession for FSU, as the Bobcats were able to set up their offense, allowing freshman Natalie Allen to score Frostburg's first try of the season for a 5-0 lead around the nine-minute mark. FSU battled to keep possession, rounding out the quarter on top 5-0.

FSU received the ball to start the second half, as Allen ran past midfield, setting up sophomore Yasmine Tyndell to run the ball into a scoring chance. The Wasps stood tall on defense, seeing their first attempt at offense of the half, before Frostburg took the ball right back, as Scully ran the ball right up the middle for a score around the 17:30 mark. She then knocked down the conversion to put the Bobcats up 12-0. Frostburg found themselves with possession again after a scrum was called, as sophomore LJ Jordan successfully sprinted down field with ball, helping FSU get in scoring position once again. E&H denied the Bobcats' first attempt at a try, but freshman Scout Spadoni was too strong for the Wasp defense, tacking on another five points for Frostburg midway through the third. FSU pushed their offense down field twice more before the end of the quarter ended, but were unable to put anymore points on the board, taking a 17-0 lead heading into the fourth.

The Wasps awaited the kickoff to open the fourth quarter, as the Bobcats were able to steal the ball and march right down field for a Spadoni-Jordan connection, increasing their lead to 22-0 just over a minute into the quarter. E&H responded moments later, slipping into the end zone and laying down a try to get their first score of the game, bringing the score to 22-5 with 12:50 left in regulation. Allen continued to shine on defense, intercepting another pass, but FSU was unable to put anything together, giving possession back to the Wasps. Just a minute later, Allen was able to set herself up again on offense, pushing her way to another try, with Scully tacking on another conversion to put Frostburg up 29-5. The Bobcats kept their momentum to finish out the game, powering their way down field for two more scores from Jordan and Sherburne, bringing the final to 39-5.

With the win, Frostburg starts the season 1-0. The Bobcats remain at home for their next contest, welcoming in Navy on Saturday, September 7 for a 1 PM match. For more information and updates, please visit frostburgsports.com.