Men's Soccer Falls to Wentworth in ECAC Semifinals
Framingham, MA - The second seed Framingham State College men's soccer team ended their season at home today with a heartbreaking 2-1 loss on Maple Street field in one semifinal match of the 2007 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) New England Division III Men's Soccer Championship Tournament to the third seed Leopards of Wentworth Institute of Technology. The Leopards advance to the finals which will be played tomorrow against the winner of the other semifinal, top-seed Norwich University or fourth seed Worcester State.
Wentworth (15-5-1) took advantage of a defensive miscue by the Rams in the 12th minute of play to take a 1-0 lead off perfectly placed shot to the top right corner by junior forward Kyle Nasman (Lenox, MA). Leopard senior midfielder Chris Hartman (Hopewell Junction, NY) assisted on the goal. Wentworth had a chance to extend their lead a few minutes later as they were awarded a penalty kick after a Rams foul in the box. Framingham senior goalkeeper Eddie Palomba (Saugus, MA) made a diving save on the PK offering by Hartman to keep the Rams within one goal.
The Rams (14-5-1) picked up their offensive intensity and outshot the Leopards in the first half 10-5, but could not get anything past Leopard net minder Joe Simon (Pittsfield, MA), who made five first half saves and finished the day with seven stops. The second half was more of the same for the Rams as they took 15 shots to the Leopards six.
The score would remain 1-0 Wentworth until the 81st minute of play when Hartman was able to break thru the Rams defense and slid a cross past Palomba, who had come out of the net on the breakaway, to freshman forward Jeff Dube (Kennebunk, ME), who was able to knock the ball in before a sliding Ram defender could recover and knock it away.
The Rams would respond a minute later and cut the deficit back to one goal. Freshman Scott Faria (Fall River, MA) launched a corner into the box that was knocked around before junior Stephen Rosenthal (Stoneham, MA) was able to knock it home for his second goal of the season. Senior Rob Harvey (Lakeville, MA) assisted on the goal. That was as close as the Rams would get as Wentworth was able to hold off their late offensive push and preserve the one goal win.
The Rams finish their best season to date with a school record 14 wins and say goodbye to several seniors including Palomba, who has left his mark in the Rams record book as he holds virtually every career record for goaltenders.