By Matt Ferris
On Friday, Nov. 2, with a spot in the championship on the line, the Rams hosted Worcester State in the MASCAC semifinal.
Framingham got on the board early, scoring the game’s first goal in just the 7th minute. Isaac De Souza one timed a pass from Ibrahim Kyeyune to make it 1-0.
The Rams extended their lead in the 30th minute when Ken Stahovish took a pass from De Souza and rifled it into the net to make it 2-0.
The Lancers had a good chance to cut into their deficit in the 35th minute, but a diving stop from Corey Davidge kept them off the scoreboard and sent the game into the half at 2-0.
Late in the second half, the Lancers had another opportunity to narrow the Rams’ lead, but the shot by Ethan Melia hit the crossbar and stayed out, keeping the score 2-0.
In the 88th minute, the Lancers finally broke through when Bryan Brasil converted a penalty kick to make it 2-1.
But this was the only offense the Lancers could muster up, allowing the Rams to earn a 2-1 victory.
De Souza led the Rams with one goal and an assist in the win.
Davidge made six saves in net for Framingham.
With the win, the Rams punched their ticket to the MASCAC final.
The Rams hosted the second-seeded Bridgewater State Bears on Sunday, Nov. 4, in the MASCAC final.
In just the 9th minute of the game, the Rams jumped out to an early lead. Akeem Bucknor fired a shot on net that was saved, but he gathered the rebound and fired it into the back of the net to make it 1-0.
Bucknor struck again in the 22nd minute to give the Rams a 2-0 lead midway through the first half. This time, he took a pass from Ken Stahovish and headed the ball past the Bears’ keeper.
Just a minute later, the Bears answered to cut the Rams’ lead to 1. Kevin Roberts headed the ball into the net off a free kick to make it 2-1.
The Bears drew even in the 33rd minute when Kessy Alves bicycle kicked the ball into the net to make it 2-2.
The Rams responded in the 38th minute to take a 3-2 lead into the break. Kyeyune collected a pass from Stahovish and ?red it past the Bears’ keeper.
The second half was all Bridgewater. Eight minutes into the half, the Bears knotted the score at 3. Robson Montrond took a pass from Adam Gold and sent a strike on net that Davidge was unable to get a hand on.
In the 80th minute, Alves gave the Bears their first lead of the game, as he scored unassisted to make it 4-3.
Just a minute later, Alves struck again to put the game out of reach. This time, he took a pass from Ells and finished it for his third goal of the game to make it 5-3, the eventual final score.
With the win, the Bears are crowned MASCAC champions and receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III National Championship tournament.
Alves was named the MASCAC tournament’s most valuable player for his three-goal performance in the championship game.
Bucknor led the Rams with two goals on the day. Stahovish added two assists and Davidge made six saves for Framingham.
With the loss, the Rams’ season comes to an end. They finish the season with a record of 13-6-2.