Framingham State Women's Soccer Captures Conference Title

Framingham State university sophomore goalkeeper Sara Sullivan made seven stops as the Framingham State University women’s soccer team clinched the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season title and top seed in the upcoming Conference Women’s Soccer Championship tournament with a 2-0 win over visiting Westfield State on Saturday afternoon i Framingham.

 Both Framingham State (13-1-1, 6-0-1 MASCAC) and Westfield State (10-7, 5-2 MASCAC) will host a semifinal matchup on Friday.

The Rams secured the regular season crown outright for the first time since 2003, which capped a five-year run that began in 1999. Framingham State and Salem State shared the title in 2004.

Junior Marisa Parent snuck the ball past the Westfield netminder and notched her league-leading 18th goal of the season off a pass from senior Kayla Austin of Winchester, who recorded her Conference-best 13th helper of the year to put the Rams on top 1-0 in the 40th minute.

Earlier in the contest, junior Isabela DeSouza of Framingham had a pair of great chances. Her bicycle kick from the top of the box in the fifth minute was scooped up by Westfield State senior backstop Jess Habif of Natick and her bid two minutes later caromed off the right post. Westfield State had a good look early in the sixth minute but junior Amanda Grant’s  shot went wide. Junior Ashleigh Chretien narrowly had a goal in the 15th minute but Sullivan collected the ball on the line at the last second.

Shortly after the break, DeSouza broke thorough at 46:04 when she converted a penalty kick to give the Rams a two-goal cushion. She fired the ball to the left side of the net just out of the reach of the outstretched keeper.

Austin recorded her fifth shutout of the season and ends the regular season with a 10-0-1 record. Habif also stopped seven shots as she slipped to 9-7 on the season.

For the game, the Rams held a 21-15 advantage in shots and were awarded nine of the 10 corner kicks on the day.

Framingham State’s five seniors, Austin, Mary Brinkmann, Taylor Ezold, Michelle Mendes  and Cara Murtagh were honored prior to the match for their contributions to Framingham State University Athletics and the women’s soccer program.