Pair of Penalty Kicks Lifts Men’s Soccer to 3-1 Win over Fitchburg

Framingham, Mass. – The Framingham State University men's soccer team capitalized on a pair of penalty kicks to defeat Fitchburg State 3-1 this morning in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's soccer action at Maple Street Field.    

With the win, the Rams improve to 6-5-2 on the season and 4-1 in the conference, while the Falcons fall to 4-8-2 overall and 1-4 in the MASCAC.

Framingham applied their offensive pressure right from the start of the game.  Just over five minutes in they had their first quality scoring chance.  Sophomore Nick Cotter (Sandwich, Mass.) sent a cross to senior Jepherson Cardoso (Framingham, Mass.) in the box, but Cardoso's bid sailed high and just wide.  Less than a minute later, senior Will Menter's (Haverhill, Mass.) header off a corner kick was just wide of the net.  Cotter followed that up with a shot from straight on inside the box that sailed just over the cross bar.

The Falcons had a pair of chances to score the first goal later in the half, but FSU goalkeeper Sam Yoder (Southbridge, Mass.) came up with a pair of saves.  First, senior George Sullivan (Milton, Mass.) fired a shot from 20 yards out that Yoder made a save on and sophomore James David (Haverhill, Mass.) took a direct kick from 25 yards out that Yoder was able to deflect away in the 33^rd minute.

The Rams finally broke open the scoreless deadlock late in the half on a penalty kick.  Sophomore Henrique DaSilva (Framingham, Mass.) was taken down in the box by a Falcon defender in the 41^st minute.  Classmate Bryan DaSilva (Milford, Mass.) took the kick and beat the keeper with a shot to the bottom right.

The Rams added a pair of goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half to extend the lead to 3-0.  In the 60^th minute, sophomore Cory Cardeiro (Westport, Mass.) sent a long throw into junior Romulo Carvalho (Milford, Mass.) in the box.  Carvalho juked around a defender and sent a shot that Cardoso redirected into the back of the net.  In the 63^rd minute, Carvalho was taken down in the box by a Falcon resulting in the Rams second penalty kick in the game.  Cotter took the kick and placed a shot in the bottom corner.

Four minutes later the Falcons got on the board cutting the Rams lead to 3-1.  David sent a direct kick into the box and Sullivan one touched it into the top corner at the 66:12 mark.  The Falcons would not come any closer as the goal by Sullivan was their only shot in the second half.

The Rams outshot the Falcons 18-4 in the game including a 10-3 edge in the first half and also held a 10-3 advantage in corner kicks. Yoder made three saves and recorded the victory, while Aiden Hanratty (East Bridgewater, Mass.) made eight saves for the Falcons in a losing effort.

The Rams return to action on Tuesday evening with a non-conference game at Keene State at 6:30 p.m., while the Falcons travel to Daniel Webster on Thursday at 4 p.m.