Men’s Soccer Edged By Western New England

Framingham, Mass. – Despite an early 1-0 lead, the Framingham State University men's soccer team surrendered a 2-1 decision to visiting Western New England in a non-conference match on Wednesday afternoon at Maple Street Field.

Freshman Akram Ndamba (Framingham, Mass.) knocked home a one-timer from junior Bryan DaSilva (Milford, Mass.) to put the Rams on top 1-0 in the 39th minute.  Earlier in the frame, Golden Bear rookie Ryan Dickinson (South Hadley, Mass.) had his point-blank shot stopped by Framingham State junior goalkeeper Kiko Anzoategui (Peabody, Mass.) in the 18th minute. The Rams had a chance to dent the scoreboard in the 27th minute as DaSilva looked to convert a free kick only to be denied by Western New England senior backstop Domenick Villano (Bronxville, N.Y.).

After senior Jake Bartnik (East Longmeadow, Mass.) scored the equalizer in the 53rd minute, Anzoategui repelled a shot by senior Ryan Williams (Brewster, N.Y.) in the 66th minute as he punched the ball away to keep the game knotted at 1-1. Freshman Gui Chaves (Framingham, Mass.) looked to put the Rams ahead when he attempted to deposit a header off a corner kick taken by DaSilva at 68:33. In the 87th minute, Williams raced down the right side of the field and delivered the game-winner off a feed from Dickinson.

Villano (4-2) collected five saves for Western New England while Anzoategui (0-3) stopped seven shots for the Rams. The Golden Bears finished the game with a slim 15-12 edge in shots and were awarded 11 of the 15 corner kicks on the afternoon.

The Rams (0-6) are back on Maple Street for their Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) opener against Bridgewater State at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Western New England (4-2) hits the road for a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) tilt at University of New England on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.