Men's Soccer Loses Heartbreaker 3-2 at Westfield State - Rams Eliminated from MASCAC Tournament
Westfield, Mass. - Senior back Josh Silvia (South Windsor, Conn.) scored the game-winning goal with 2:36 remaining to lift Westfield State to a 3-2 comeback victory over Framingham State in a Massachusetts State College Athletics Conference (MASCAC) men's soccer tournament semifinal game this afternoon at Alumni Field.
Westfield (9-7-2) advances to Saturday's championship game, where the Owls host Salem State. Salem advanced to the title tilt with a 3-1 upset victory at No. 1 seed and MASCAC regular season champ Bridgewater State.
Framingham and Westfield tied for second place in the MASCAC with 5-1-1 records, but the Owls earned the home field advantage by defeating the defending tournament champion Rams, 1-0, in September.
Framingham and Westfield played another exciting game in the semi-finals, with Silvia - a senior captain - providing the late-game heroics with his first goal of the season.
Silvia collected the ball in the middle of the field near the 25 after Framingham goalie Greg Halle (Beverly, Mass.) had cleared a corner kick. Silvia then blasted a bender just over Halle and under the crossbar for the stunning game-winning shot.
Westfield took the early lead when sophomore Tim Parsons (Buzzards Bay, Mass.) scored his team-high 12th goal of the season after receiving a beautiful pass through two defenders from Josh Severns (Suffield, Conn.).
Framingham took a 2-1 lead on two goals by junior forward Jason Silva (Northbridge, Mass.), the 2009 MASCAC player of the year. He scored his eighth and ninth goals of the season in the 37th and 57th minutes. Brunno Goncalves (Framingham, Mass.) assisted on Silva's first tally and senior Jared Curry (Westboro, Mass.) picked up an assist on the second.
Westfield tied the score in the 67th minute on a goal by freshman Jared Spicer (Carver, Mass.). He collected a cross pass from Justin Laliberte (Easthampton, Mass.) and cranked in a shot from the right side.
The Owls were out-shot, 10-2, in the first half but picked up the pace in the second half, out-shooting Framingham, 13-12.
The loss ends the Rams season as they finish the year 8-9-2.
Release courtesy of Westfield State Sports Information.