Men’s Soccer Advances to MASCAC Tournament Final with 4-3 Over Westfield

Framingham, Mass. – The top seeded Framingham State University men's soccer team defeated fourth seed Westfield State 4-3 this afternoon in one semi-final of the 2011 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's soccer Championship at Maple Street Field.      

With the win, Framingham State improves to 7-8-3 on the year and will meet the winner of the other semi-final, which is being played later this afternoon between Salem State and Worcester State, in the Championship round on Saturday afternoon at Framingham at 1 p.m. The winner of the Championship Round receives the MASCAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships.

The Rams took a 1-0 lead just two minutes into the game as sophomore Ronaldo Vieira (Framingham, Mass.) took a pass and carried the ball into the box beating the Owls goal keeper who had come off his line with a well-placed shot in the far corner.

Ten minutes later, the Owls had two chances to tie the score, but FSU goalkeeper Sam Yoder (Southbridge, Mass.) came up with a pair of big saves.  First senior Tim Parsons (Buzzards Bay, Mass.) sent a cross to junior Bill Lund (Monson, Mass.) in the box and Lund fired a shot on net, but Yoder came across the goal making a kick save to preserve the one goal lead. Just two minutes later, a Westfield shot deflected off a Ram defender and was headed towards the net, but Yoder was again able to knock the ball away.

The Rams were able to extend their lead to 2-0 in the 29^th minute of action when freshman Bryan DaSilva (Milford, Mass.) found the back of the net on a direct kick just outside the box.

The Owls would cut the Rams lead in half with 6:38 remaining in the first.  Senior Justin Laliberte (Easthampton, Mass.) sent a shot on net that was knocked away by Yoder; classmate Nick Gale (Cheshire, Mass.) corralled the rebound and sent another shot on goal.  Yoder made the save, but the rebound deflected to sophomore Kristian Driscoll (Lexington, Mass.) and Driscoll found the back of the net cutting the Rams lead to 2-1 at the half.

Framingham State pushed the lead back to two in the opening minutes of the second half. Senior Steve Lesiczka (Haverhill, Mass.) hit sophomore Romulo Carvalho (Milford, Mass.) with a pass on the right side and Carvalho placed a shot inside the far post for his 4^th goal of the seaon.

The Owls answered with a pair of goals to tie the game at 3-3 with 30 minutes remaining. In the 52^nd minute Laliberte took a throw in on the left sideline that Lund controlled in the box.  Lund's shot slipped under the diving keeper cutting the deficit to one.  In the 60^th minute Laliberte sent a corner into the box that junior Bill Reagan (Oak Bluffs, Mass.) redirected into the goal for the equalizer.

The Rams would break the deadlock five minutes later in the 60^th minute when DaSilva scored his second of the game.  Freshman Cory Cardeiro (Fall River, Mass.) controlled the ball at midfield and dribbled into the Owls half laying a pass off to DaSilva.  DaSilva fired a shot on net that the Owls keeper got his hands on, but the ball slipped through his fingers and into the goal for what proved to be the game-winner.

Both teams took 17 shots in the game, with the Owls holding a 5-0 edge in corner kicks. Yoder finished the game with nine saves for the Rams as he picked up his 6^th win of the season.  Westfield State goalkeeper Jeff Pepoli made seven saves and picked up the loss.