Men’s soccer falls to Gordon

By Izabela Gage Sports Editor By Avery Slavin Staff Writer

Meg Dame / THE GATEPOST

The Rams were defeated by the Gordon College Lions 2-0 in a non-conference matchup Oct. 1. This loss brings their overall record to 4-6-1 and their conference record remains at 1-3. Framingham was strong on offense from the beginning, with junior Kaio Santos Da Silva taking the first shot on goal only 40 seconds in. The Lions took control of the ball and tried to find the back of the net less than a minute later, but the ball was stopped by freshman goalkeeper Colin Holt. Sophomore Walbee Pieree responded with an attempt to put the first point on the board less than 30 seconds later. After 5 minutes of both teams fighting for possession of the ball, Gordon earned a corner and broke through Holt’s defense to find the back of the net, bringing the score to 1-0. The Rams made it into the Lions’ defensive zone, and after a shot from Pieree bounced off the crossbar, Santos Da Silva went for the rebound, but the shot was high. Gordon fought for possession of the ball and won, and fired off two shots in a minute in hopes of finding a way around Holt, but was unsuccessful. Following a foul on Framingham, Gordon was strong in the defensive zone and took two more shots, one flying high above the net, and the other being stopped by Holt. The Lions didn’t let up, and only 5 minutes later, made a shot that got past Holt and into the goal to strengthen their lead to 2-0. The Rams fought for the ball for the next two minutes, but the Lions stayed consistent. Gordon’s Luke Lindas rocketed the ball toward the goal, but Holt ran toward it to make the save. Framingham ended the half with three more shots on goal, all of which were saved by Lions’ goalkeeper Isaiah Diaz. Holt started the second half strong with a save within the first minute. Shortly after, freshman Michael MacDougall unleashed a shot towards the Lions’ net, only to be saved by Diaz. About five minutes after an offside against Gordon, Pieree attempted a corner kick, only for a foul to be called. The Lions sent three powerful shots toward the goal within three minutes, all of which were unsuccessful. After a few substitutions from both sides, Gordon’s Max Cardone sent a shot toward the net, but couldn’t get around Holt. Following a missed corner kick from Gordon, Holt, MacDougall, and freshman Shawn Amposah received yellow cards. The game concluded after two high shots and an unlucky corner kick from the Lions. The Rams fought hard, not allowing a goal for Gordon in the second half. The final score was 2-0. Sophomore Thiago Magalhaes said after halftime, “the mentality was the most important. After our coach talked to us in the locker room, I think everyone came back with a lot more energy. The subs also helped us a lot with putting new energy on the field.” Santos Da Silva said, “Our record, in my opinion, doesn’t show what we have done this season. Right now, we have a positive mindset and confidence that in the upcoming games with other players who are returning, we can get back to full form.” Sophomore Landon Medeiros said, “Sticking to our brand of soccer and being more organized as a unit will help us offensively and will help us with our possession as well.” Magalhaes said, “We’re working on defense, on shape, on tactility, and the energy is there.” He added, “I’m just happy to be here.” Medeiros said that as captains, he, Santos Da Silva, and Magalhaes try to look at the positives rather than the negatives. Santos Da Silva said the three of them “try to keep a positive mindset toward the games that don’t go our way, but also make sure we keep ourselves and everyone else accountable to do better.” The Rams travel to Suffolk University for a non-conference matchup Oct. 7. Holt said, “We have to keep communicating in the game - stay focused and always look for the next play.”