Field hockey falls to Westfield St. in conference opener

Adrien Gobin / THE GATEPOST

By Taylor Kimmell

Asst. Sports Editor

The Framingham State Rams opened conference play with a tough loss in their battle against the Westfield State Owls Sept. 17.

The Owls, projected to place second in the MASCAC Preseason Poll, were first to the net, scoring just 2:32 into the first quarter.

Less than a minute later, FSU forward and Captain Ashley Malmquist, a junior, took a hard shot on goal that was deflected by Westfield goaltender Emma Gniadek. 

The Rams played solid defense for the remainder of the quarter, clearing three corners and blocking three shots. 

The second quarter began with yet another corner for Westfield, and, once again, Framingham’s strong defense refused to yield. 

Sophomore Mikayla Malmquist attempted another goal for FSU but was unsuccessful.

On the next play, WSU brought the ball down the field for their second goal of the game. 

Four more shots from Westfield followed the goal, each sailing wide of the net or blocked by FSU goaltender and Captain Kaitlyn Tello, a junior.

With two minutes remaining before the half, the Rams made a strong offensive push, with two shots on goal by freshman Chloe Moynihan and senior Natalia Roehr, as well as a corner earned by sophomore Allison Wurms. 

Their valiant attempts proved unsuccessful, and the half came to a close with a score of 0-2 in favor of Westfield.

The Owls led the third quarter on offense, with three shots in the first five minutes. 

A minute later, sophomore Finley Hogan attempted a shot on Westfield’s net, unfortunately blocked by a defender. 

In the following minute, Moynihan sent in a shot that was deflected by Gniadek.

Westfield stole the ball, firing off two more shots and earning three more corners before FSU regained possession.

A corner earned by Wurms led to shots from junior Allison Harmuth and sophomore Reese Neale. 

The quarter came to a close after two uneventful minutes.

During the final quarter, the Rams played a heavy defense, preventing each of Westfield's shots from finding the back of the net.

A minute into the fourth, the Owls sent a shot toward the net, sending the ball miles above the top post.

Framingham and Westfield traded possession for the next five minutes, the battle ending with a corner for Westfield. 

During the corner, WSU fired off two shots, one sailing well to the side of the goal while Tello expertly blocked the other.

Despite their efforts, the Owls could not penetrate the Rams’ immovable defense and were unable to capitalize on the opportunity.

In the final minute of the game, Westfield had two more unsuccessful attempts on goal, both of which were prevented by strong plays from Tello.

The match came to a close with a score of 0-2 in favor of the Owls.

This loss brings the Rams’ overall record to 1-5 and the conference record to 0-1.

Despite the loss, Framingham proved a tough opponent for Westfield, holding the highly seeded team to only two goals over four quarters.

The performance, while impressive on its own, becomes more so when considering that one-third of the team's players are new this season.

Tello said, “Some pros are definitely people coming in with different experience levels. … Each person has their own strengths, which truly show everyone's value and the spot they have on the team. 

“There truly are no cons to having them join. Without them, we wouldn't have a team and have the successes that we have had thus far in the season,” she added.

Moynihan said, “Not even halfway through the first practice, I had figured out that I would be just fine here. … I have never seen such a tighter-b

onded group of girls. … Our connection with each other is going to keep us going this year and will bring us to where we want to be!” 

The team’s strong performance can be attributed to their incredible defensive play, notably the impressive performance by Tello in the goal. Though WSU had 21 shots, she blocked nearly all of them.

This display of talent alongside several other successes in the early games this season earned Tello the title of MASCAC’s Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 2.

Moynihan said the team plans to come into their next match with a goal of pulling off a win. She said they want “to use the skills we have been practicing these last couple of weeks, and the motivation we have will help us through the game!” 

The Rams are determined to earn a conference victory in their matchup against the Fitchburg State Falcons Sept. 20.

Tello said, “Fitchburg is always a very competitive team for us, but I think our main goal is to just play our game and have fun because that's when we do our best.”