Asst. Sports Editor By Taylor Kimmell Staff Writer Field hockey fell to the Worcester State Lancers 2-0 in a conference matchup Oct. 5. Their overall record is now 4-6, and their conference record is 2-2. The Lancers made the first attempt to score, but it ricocheted off the post. The Rams fought back with two shots by senior Captain Emma Bailey. A minute later, Framingham let up on defense and Worcester found the back of the net. The next 8 minutes were quiet. Neither team was able to find opportunities on the net. Mikayla Malmquist, a freshman, found an opening on net, but it was saved by Worcester’s goaltender Madison Ferrara. The second quarter ramped up for Framingham and opened with a fast shot by graduate student Captain Angelina Serra, but Worcester’s net remained empty. Serra made another attempt to tally a point, but Ferrara stopped the ball. Freshman Finley Hogan took a chance on the rebound shot 4 seconds later, but could not get it past the goal line. The offensive pressure did not stop there. Junior Natalia Roehr hit another shot, but it was blocked. Worcester netted their second goal of the game 4 minutes later, bringing the score to 2-0. Framingham returned from the center pass with more determination, with Hogan and Serra both attempting to bring the Rams’ score up from zero, but both shots missed the net. Worcester responded with two of their own shots, but were stopped by goaltender Kaitlyn Tello. The Rams earned another penalty corner 6 seconds later with senior Kaylee Beck coming in hot on offense with another shot on goal that was saved by Ferrara. Framingham kept control of the game in the third quarter, with sophomore Ashley Malmquist fighting for a goal, but the shot was wide. Worcester State received a penalty corner 2 minutes later, but failed to tally another point. The next 3 minutes of the quarter were quiet until Mikayla Malmquist took another shot, which was blocked by the Lancers. Serra ended the third quarter with a shot on goal that was once again blocked by Worcester. Both teams returned in the fourth quarter with more energy. The Lancers opened up with two shots on goal that were saved by Tello. The Rams and the Lancers both tallied four shots before the end of the game, but neither team was able to produce another goal, ending the game 2-0. Framingham made a lot of offensive advances during the game, none of which resulted in a point. The team took 17 shots on goal and 9 penalty corners. Hadley said the team has built a great foundation over the first half of the season, and they just need to work toward capitalizing on offensive opportunities. Ashley Malmquist said, in reference to corner penalties, “I feel like we do really well on communicating when it’s going to work or not. … We just need to keep practicing them. Practice makes perfect on those.” Of the team's four wins this season, two were achieved during overtime. Ashley Malmquist noted the team becomes noticeably more goal-oriented during overtime play. “I think that motivates us because we want to win it and give it our all so we don’t have to go into another overtime.” Julie Hadley, a senior, agreed that playing in overtime boosts the team’s morale and motivates them to come out more aggressively on the offensive end. “Overtime forces us to just space out and stick to what we know - the fundamentals of the game,” said Hadley. Serra said the Rams just need to “pick up that intensity at the beginning of the game, in regular time.” Most recently, the Rams were defeated by the Southern Maine Huskies 4-1 in a non-conference matchup Oct. 8. The Rams travel to Westfield State University for a conference matchup Oct. 12.
