Owls Clipped by Rams in Overtime, 2-1

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State junior Taylor Creech (Kennebunk, Maine) scored the opening goal of the game, but Framingham State would rally past the Owls, 2-1, in overtime as part of a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference game from Maple Street Field in Framingham, Mass. on Saturday afternoon.

The Rams snapped the Owls four-game winning streak as Westfield falls to 6-7 on the year and 3-2 in the MASCAC. Framingham moves to 6-5 overall and 3-2 in the league.

The Owls struck first in the opening period of the game with Erin Lane (Canton, Mass.) dishing a pass to Creech who buried her fourth goal in her last three games to give Westfield a 1-0 lead.

In the second period, the Rams mounted an offensive attack after a shot from Ashley Malmquist (Medfield, Mass.) was saved by Emma Gniadek (Worcester, Mass.) with the rebound finding the stick of Kaylee Beck (Tyngsboro, Mass.) who tied the game with her fourth goal of the year.

The game remained tied after regulation as the Owls would enter their first overtime period of the season. Gniadek temporarily kept Westfield alive with a save off a Beck shot on net, but Malmquist found senior Angelina Serra (North Chelmsford, Mass.) who buried the sudden-death winner to give to give Framingham the win.

The contest was mostly a defensive battle as the two teams combined for just 19 shots with the Rams holding the slight edge in shots (10-9). Gniadek (L, 6-7) recorded four saves while Rams keeper Kaitlyn Tello (Nashua, N.H.) stopped three shots on net.

Westfield State will remain in conference play for their next game as the Owls host conference-leading Worcester State (5-0 MASCAC) on Wednesday at 7:00 P.M. from Alumni Field in Westfield, Mass.