Frostburg State University Men's Lacrosse

Steve Gartelman enters his eighth season as the head coach of the Frostburg State men’s lacrosse program in the 2025-26 academic year, after being hired from a national search in the summer of 2018.   2025 marked Frostburg's fourth consecutive ECC Tournament appearance, as the team finished the year 7-9 overall and 4-2 in conference play. Six players earned All-ECC honors, including FO Alex Walstrum and LSM Seamus Kearney, who each received Honorable Mention All-American honors, while Midfielder Luke Roach was named All-Region. In the classroom, 21 players received ECC Commissioner's Honor Roll, the highest-ever total for the program.  FSU enjoyed continued success in 2024, being nationally ranked the entire season and earning another trip to the ECC Championship Game. With a 13-4 record, the team tied its win total from the previous season, which included the program's first-ever victory over Seton Hill, as each of the four losses came against eventual National Tournament participants. On their way to receiving the two seed in the ECC, the team had a historic comeback victory over Molloy, winning 12-11 having trailed 8-1 in the first half.  Several players had distinguished performances, with a stunning four All-Americans selected by USILA in Bubba Love, Chase Buckwalter, Luke McCullough, and Seamus Kearney. They were joined by Austin Sipes, Owen McCallum, and Alex Walstrum in being named All-ECC. Love was also the ECC Offensive Player of the year and set the career scoring record along with tying the career goals record, scoring the second-most goals (49) and points (84) in a single season in program history.  The 2023 season began with a winning run of eight straight games, including a shocking upset over #1 Tampa that eventually led the team to become the #9 team in the USILA national poll. Despite losses to three ranked foes and a home loss to Molloy, FSU secured the #2 seed in the ECC Tournament. In a complete Semifinal performance, the Bobcats rolled past #3 Roberts Wesleyan 21-13. In the Championship, Frostburg got out to a fast start but couldn't hold on in a loss to #1 Mercy for another second-place finish.  With a 13-5 record, it was the most program wins since 2016 and tied for the fourth-most in school history. The team smashed every offensive record in the book, setting new program highs for goals (322), assists (213) and points (535). Jake Bowman had arguably the top individual season performance in program history, setting records for goals (67) and points (91) on his way to becoming a USILA All-American and Scholar All-American. Additionally, six players earned All-Conference honors, with three on the first team and three on the second team.  The Bobcats had a stellar 2022 season under Gartelman, posting a record of 11-8. FSU posted a 4-2 record inside the ECC, which was good for a conference tournament berth for the first time in the program’s eligibility. Included in that ECC tournament berth was a run all the way to the ECC Championship game. Gartelman guided sophomore Luke McCullough and junior Jake Bowman to USILA All-North Region honors, and All-ECC First Team honors. McCullough led the team in ground balls from non-faceoff players with 55, also causing 18 turnovers. Bowman finished second on the team in points (60), notching 32 goals and 28 points.   In his third season as the Bobcats’ bench boss, Gartelman guided Frostburg State to a 6-2 record in the condensed spring season. The 6-2 marker included a record of 2-0 in the ECC before that season was also shortened. In the five game win streak that opened up the 2021 campaign, FSU outscored their opponents by a combined tally of 82-30.   2021 saw sophomore Tanner Donaldson and senior Garret Colvin earn USILA All-American Honorable Mentions, as well as All-ECC First Team bids under the tutelage of Gartelman. Donaldson chipped in 6 goals and 10 assists (16 points) in the stout offensive season, and Colvin was a defensive menace registering 14 caused turnovers and accumulating 14 ground balls.   Gartelman had his Bobcats off to a blistering start in 2020 before the season was cut short. FSU was 5-0 in its first season at Division II that included a 16-8 upset of No. 19 Florida Southern and a 15-14 OT win over Lake Erie in the opener. Following the 5-0 start, FSU was receiving votes in the weekly USILA Top-20 poll. The Bobcats scored 92 goals in five contests, while defensively, they were allowing just under eight goals per game.   In his first season, he led the Bobcats to their first ever ECAC Championship after three previous program appearances. The Bobcats hosted the ECAC Tournament and defeated Westminster (Pa.) 10-8 in the championship game. Gartelman guided Frostburg to a 12-8 record to collect the most wins the program has had since the 2016 season.   He also guided junior Jimmy Lucas to All-CAC Second Team honors after notching a career-high in goals (23), points (29) and ground balls (23). Junior attack Paul Ruppert set a program record with 48 goals. The Bobcats made a CAC Tournament appearance for the 2019 season and advanced to the semifinals for the fifth time since 2014.   Gartelman spent four seasons as the head coach at NCAA Division II Lake Erie College. During that time, he has led the Storm to 41 wins with six All-Americans. Lake Erie, which consistently appears in the Top 20, won the ECAC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament semifinals in 2015. That same season, the Storm were ranked No. 1 in the USILA weekly poll for five weeks.   Prior to serving as the head coach at Lake Erie, Gartelman was the program's top assistant in 2013 and 2014. The Storm won 22 games during that span and the '14 team won the program's first ECAC Division II Championship. In 2013, the Storm posted a school record 12 wins (12-5) and earned the program's first NCAA Playoff bid.   Aside from his coaching duties at Lake Erie, Gartelman has served as camp director at Bill Pilat's Goalie School..   Gartelman earned his bachelor's degree in strength & conditioning from Limestone College in 2012 and earned his MBA from Lake Erie in 2014. A goalie at Limestone, Gartelman is the program's all-time leader in both goals against average (6.43) and wins (44). He is fourth in program history with 374 saves in his three seasons and is eighth in saves per game (7.48),   2025 7-9 Overall, 4-2 ECC 3rd Place ECC | ECC Tournament Semifinal Appearance 2024 13-4 Overall, 5-1 ECC 2nd Place ECC | ECC Tournament Championship Appearance 2023 13-5 Overall, 4-2 ECC 2nd Place ECC | ECC Tournament Championship Appearance 2022 11-8 Overall, 4-2 ECC 2nd Place ECC | ECC Tournament Championship Appearance 2021 6-2 Overall, 2-0 ECC Season Cut Short Due to  COVID-19 2020 5-0 Overall Season Cut Short Due to  COVID-19 2019 12-8 Overall, 2-4 CAC ECAC Champions | CAC Tournament Semifinal Appearance

Hogers begins his first year in 2015-16 as the top assistant coach for the Frostburg State men's lacrosse program. Hoger will serve as the program's defensive coordinator. Hoger comes to FSU after spending the last three years as an undergraduate admissions counselor and assistant men's lacrosse coach at Eastern University. As the assistant lacrosse coach, Hoger worked as a goaltender specialist, box coach, and assistant defensive coordinator and saw three of his athletes named all-conference and one an All-American. He was also responsible for the management of the recruitment process for prospective student-athletes for the program.   During his time as an admissions counselor, Hoger promoted Eastern University and recruited students to the school, assisted students with the admissions process, coordinated and managed student tour guides, developed and edited promotional materials and managed the undergraduate scholarship partnership with Young Life and FCA.   From 2011 to 2014, Hoger was the director of the Eastern University chapter of College Life and led an on-campus ministry group. With College Life, he coordinated promotional events and charity fundraisers.   Hoger graduated from Eastern in 2012 with a bachelor's of arts degree in mathematics after a four-year career on the men's lacrosse team. He was named team captain his senior year.

McDonough has joined the Frostburg State men's lacrosse coaching staff for his first year in 2015-16 and will serve as the program's graduate assistant. McDonough comes to Frostburg after graduating from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County in May. As a three-year starting defensive midfielder for the Retrievers, he was a two-time captain and tallied two goals and nine assists, along with 87 ground balls and 20 caused turnovers. During his time at UMBC, McDonough volunteered as a mentor at local elementary schools throughout the off-season.   A graduate of Saint Anthony's high school in South Huntington, New York, McDonough was a member of the school's Catholic Championship varsity team.   McDonough graduated in May with a bachelor's of arts degree in history and plans on pursuing his master's degree while at FSU.

Pearce was chosen to start the new era of mens lacrosse for Frostburg State University in the early summer of 2009 and he has quickly turned his program into one of the top teams in region. Prior to the 2016 season, senior goalkeeper Tom Kraemer and senior midfielder Tate Rolland were named Face-Off Yearbook DIII Preseason All-American Honorable Mention selections, building on the success from the 2015 team. Last season, Pearce led the Bobcats to a school-record 14-0 start en route to the programs best season in school history. Frostburg was ranked as high as No. 17 in the USILA poll and eventually fell to No. 8 Salisbury in the Capital Athletic Conference championship to finish the year with a 16-3 overall record. FSU hosted a CAC Tournament semifinal game for the first time in program history and defeated Mary Washington, 7-6, to advance to the league title game. FSU set several other records, including finishing in the top-10 in several categories in the final Division III national rankings. As a team, the red and black led the nation with just 13.53 turnovers per game, finished fifth in the nation in clearing percentage (0.891), sixth in scoring defense (6.16), seventh in winning percentage (0.842), eighth in scoring margin (7.11), and ninth in assists per game (8.63). FSU also led the CAC in several categories including assists per game, clearing percentage, face-off winning percentage (0.633), turnovers per game and winning percentage. Erik Geiser led the conference with a 0.651 face-off winning percentage and 4.68 ground balls per game, while Devin Colegrove led the CAC with 2.21 assists per game. Eight Bobcats were named to the All-CAC squads following the season, while Pearce garnered CAC Coach of the Year honors. Three seniors (Zach Burkhardt, Colegrove, Chris Rios) were named to the ECAC DIII Mid-Atlantic Region Second Team, while Burkhardt, Rios and Kraemer were named USILA All-American Honorable Mentions. From 2013 and 2014, the Bobcats posted 27 total wins and advanced to the ECAC South Region Championship game twice. FSU made an appearance in the CAC Tournament in each season and finished runner-up in the league in scoring twice. In 2014, Frostburg finished 14-6 overall and was chosen to host the ECAC South Region Championship. The Bobcats led the CAC in face-off winning percentage (.633), face-offs won (292) and ground balls per game (39.45). At Bobcat Stadium, FSU finished 8-2 with a win in both the CAC and ECAC Tournaments. In 2013, Pearce led the Bobcats to a 13-7 overall record and FSU capped the year with an appearance in the ECAC South Region Tournament Championship. The Bobcats finished the season ranked ninth in the country in man-up offense (.390) and 19th in ground balls per game (41.80). For his efforts, Pearce was named the CACs Coach of the Year. In his second season in 2012, the Bobcats posted wins over Shenandoah (14-6) and Washington & Jefferson (8-6) and suffered six losses by four goals or less. The Bobcats finished fourth in the CAC in ground balls (637), fifth in caused turnovers (144) and seventh in both goals (113) and assists (64). In the programs first year in 2011, Frostburg finished 6-11 overall and 1-7 in the league. The Bobcats had two players finish in the top-10 in the league in scoring while Ryan Serio was named the CAC Rookie of the Year. Frostburg opened the season with a 10-3 win over Shenandoah and finished with wins over Neumann (20-9), St. Josephs (19-3), Susquehanna (10-9), Marymount (11-8) and Washington & Jefferson (12-6). Pearce came to Frostburg State University from Gettysburg College where he served as an assistant coach and offensive coordinator for the mens lacrosse team for four seasons (2006-09). A native of Chestertown, Md., Pearce helped Gettysburg to an incredible run during his time with the Bullets. The team won the Centennial Conference Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of those four seasons, including a national runner-up finish in 2009. Gettysburg collected an overall record of 66-12 and was consistently ranked in the top-10 in the nation, including a No. 5 ranking at the conclusion of his final season. Pearce, who earned the Intercollegiate Mens Lacrosse Coaches Association 2008 Division III Outstanding Assistant Coach award, helped recruit and coach 20 All-Americans while at Gettysburg, including six in 2009. Success at Gettysburg came not only as a coach for Pearce, but also as a player. He was a two-time All-American, garnering First Team honors in 2001 as well as being named the Centennial Conference Player of the Year and Eastern College Athletic Conference South Region Player of the Year. He helped the Bullets to four-straight conference titles and the schools first-ever berth in the NCAA Division III national championship game. Pearce graduated from Gettysburg in 2001 with a bachelors degree in English and received his masters degree from McDaniel College in 2008 in physical education and athletic administration.