By Izabela Gage
Staff Writer
Despite starting the season with losses to Babson College and Endicott College in February, the Framingham State Rams bounced back and now have a 6-2 overall record.
Junior midfielder Molly Lanier said, “We lost to two very talented teams, which gave us the opportunity to learn that we can keep up with highly skilled teams above our conference.”
Before traveling for spring break, the Rams beat Plymouth State, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Canton University, and Johnson & Wales University.
Lanier added, “Our momentum was strong going into Florida with the 4-2 record. We were excited and pumped to continue showing the teams how hard we play.”
They came home from Panama City Beach, Florida with a six-game win streak.
Sophomore goalkeeper Isabella DiMare said, “We are pretty prepared for the upcoming games. Especially since we are on a six-game win streak, our goal is to keep that win streak going and be regular season and MASCAC Champions.”
The Rams beat the Western New England University (WNE) Golden Bears March 18.
The Golden Bears scored the opening goal, which was countered by Framingham senior attacker Hannah Guerin with three goals in the first.
The quarter ended with the Golden Bears scoring their second goal.
WNE opened the second with two goals, which were answered by Guerin with a goal 36 seconds later.
Lanier scored a free-position shot, bringing the score to 5-4. The Rams scored again 4 minutes later.
With 3 minutes left in the quarter, Guerin scored, and within 9 seconds, senior midfielder Brandi Core netted another one.
Both goals were met by the Golden Bears by the end of the second, but the Rams finished with an advantage of 8-6.
Framingham scored three goals in the third and WNE only scored one.
The Rams and Golden Bears traded goals to open the fourth quarter, making the score 12-8.
The Rams followed with three goals, outscoring the Golden Bears’ two. Framingham won the game 15-10.
Framingham State crushed Keene State College in Florida March 20.
After 6 minutes of no goals from either team, the Keene State Owls finally scored two, but that was matched by Framingham scoring five goals within 2 minutes.
The Owls scored again, but the Rams responded with three more goals before the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter was slower-paced, with one goal by the Rams and two by the Owls.
Two goals were scored by Keene in the third, but Framingham doubled it by scoring four.
By the fourth quarter, the score was 13-7, and it stayed consistent as the Rams and Owls both earned two goals.
The Rams once again scored 15 goals. The Owls came up short with nine.
Guerin secured six goals and two assists in the win against Keene March 20, tallying 200 career goals. She has set a new program record for career points, currently at 289.
Guerin has earned MASCAC Offensive Player of the Week for the third consecutive week, and DiMare was named Defensive Player of the Week March 18.
The entire team did not know of Guerin’s and DiMare’s awards until after the first game against WNE, according to DiMare.
“Everyone was ecstatic when we found out, but I don’t think it changed the motivation of the team. We are always motivated to play to the best of our ability and improve while doing it, no matter what!” she added.
The Rams planned to play against Eastern Connecticut State University March 26, but the game was postponed to April 10.
Framingham faces the Fitchburg State Falcons on home turf for their second MASCAC matchup March 30.