Men's Soccer Opens Conference Slate with 1-0 Win Over Fitchburg State

Fitchburg, Mass. – Senior forward Cory Cardeiro (Fall River, Mass.) collected the lone score to lift the Framingham State University men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this afternoon at Elliot Field.

In the first half, Fitchburg State nearly took the lead 14 minutes into the stanza as junior midfielder Jefferson Acha blasted a free kick from 20 yards out, but Rams keeper Josh Arno (Natick, Mass.) made a stellar diving save to his left to preserve the 0-0 stalemate.

Framingham State threatened with just over 16 minutes remaining in the half when newcomer Igor Pessoni (Marlborough, Mass.) redirected a header towards goal, only to have his shot cleared off the goal line by junior Nicolas Masley.

The Rams grabbed the lead at the 41:16 mark as Cardeiro collected a feed from sophomore Ben Britton (Peabody, Mass.) and slipped the ball inside the near post for his fourth tally of the season and the 1-0 advantage going into the break.

Following intermission, Fitchburg State turned up the offensive pressure with 30 minutes left in the contest when senior forward Jared Burns and junior Mauro Gimenez each had quality scoring chances, but Arno was up to the task, making a pair of outstanding saves, resulting in the 1-0 final.

Fitchburg State finished with a 19-16 edge in shots, while the Rams held a narrow 6-5 advantage in corner kicks. In goal, freshman Connor Smith posted five saves for the Falcons, while Arno stopped ten shots for Framingham State in route to the clean sheet.

Fitchburg State (2-4-0, 0-1-0 MASCAC) will be back in action on Wednesday as they host the Pride of Regis College at 7 p.m. Framingham State (2-4-0, 1-0-0 MASCAC) will travel to Rhode Island College on Tuesday for a contest starting at 6 p.m.

Release courtesy of Fitchburg State Media Relations