Men’s soccer crushed by Bridgewater on Senior Day
By Avery Slavin
Editorial Staff
The Framingham State Rams fell 4-0 to the Bridgewater State Bears on their Senior Day Oct. 31. This brings their overall record to 6-8-1 and their conference record to 4-2-1. In the first minute, Bridgewater took the first shot of the game, and another the next minute. Sophomore goalkeeper Colin Holt saved both goal attempts. Six minutes later, the Bears sent the ball toward the net again, but were unable to hit the back of the net until a short 3 seconds later when Bridgewater got the first point of the game. The Rams couldn’t seem to keep possession of the ball for long, and Bridgewater had time to attempt to score another point twice - one saved by Holt and the other strayed too wide. Senior captain Kaio Santos Da Silva tried to help the Rams bounce back and sent the ball to the other side of the field toward Bridgewater’s goalkeeper Kyle Sullivan, but his defense stayed strong in front of the net. The Bears stayed aggressive with a header shot, a blocked shot, and a shot saved by Holt. Following three corner kicks, each within 30 seconds of each other, Bridgewater scored another point, keeping them in the lead over the Rams. Framingham still couldn’t keep possession of the ball, allowing the Bears to go for a third goal. Holt stayed strong in front of the net. The first half ended with a 2-0 score in favor of Bridgewater. The Bears wouldn’t let the Rams catch up, and sent the ball toward Holt within the first 20 seconds of the second half, and luckily, he saved it. Just a minute later, Bridgewater tried again, but couldn’t quite hit the back of the net until 2 minutes later, when they were able to break Holt’s defense. The Bears, with a 3-point lead, kept the ball away from Framingham long enough to take another two shots on goal, one slipping just past the net and the other going into the arms of Holt. Two minutes later, the Rams were finally able to gain possession of the ball and get some action on the field. Senior Landon Medeiros took a shot on goal, but the Bears blocked it from getting too close to the net. Senior captain Thiago Magalhaes took the next attempt to get a point on the board for Framingham, but his shot was blocked as well. Seven minutes later, Santos Da Silva kicked the ball across the field, but it was too high to get past the posts. Freshman Joshua Rosemond sent the Rams’ next shot toward Sullivan, but it sailed too high above the net. Five minutes later, the Bears regained possession of the ball and kicked it toward Holt, but it slipped past him and earned Bridgewater their fourth point. Junior Cassio Silva and sophomore Gustavo Gualberto were the final two Rams to attempt to score, but both were unsuccessful. Bridgewater took their final shot of the game 6 minutes before the buzzer sounded, but it didn’t get in the net. The final score was 4-0. The Rams play Bridgewater again Nov. 6 in the semi-finals of the MASCAC tournament. Santos Da Silva said this loss didn’t discourage them, and it “was not a big deal. We played our best at the time, and there is a feeling around the team that it wasn’t our best game. We’re focused on the game Friday and making sure we are ready to go.” Santos Da Silva said the Rams are “really excited” for the opportunity to play on home turf for the semi-finals.
