By Dante Curry
Staff Writer
Field hockey lost 3-2 in a matchup against the Worcester State Lancers Oct. 25.
The first quarter was fast-paced.
Framingham set things off when Ashley Malmquist sent a strike toward the post, leading to
a tipped pass to Emma Bailey and a Rams goal.
However, the Lancers tied it up quickly when Grace Adams scored, tying the game 1-1 and continuing the battle.
Adams scored two more goals in the Lancers’ victory. She scored all three of the goals, adding a hat trick to her resume.
The second quarter started strong with both teams exchanging strikes.
That ended at 28:46 when Adams put it in the goal for the Lancers and the momentum shifted in Worcester’s favor.
The Rams trailed 2-1 entering the second half.
The third quarter got underway with both teams leading in combativeness.
Adams scored the Lancers’ third and final goal in the 44th minute.
The fourth quarter started and it was arguably the best quarter for the Rams.
The Rams put the pressure on and put one between the posts. Brandi Core finished off Malmquist's setup and cut the lead to one point.
The Rams almost nearly managed a last-second goal that would have sent this game into overtime.
Framingham’s Kaylee Beck, one of the team captains, said after the close game, “FSU plays as a team. Every single time no matter what, win or lose. We always come together at the end. No matter what, if we are having a hard day, we come through and we really just - we finish it.”
Beck was right - the Rams played as a team and the Rams found themselves in the fourth quarter. The quarter was action-packed and mainly one-sided with the Rams scoring and leaving the Lancers scoreless.
You could see the fire in the Rams’ offense after the late fourth quarter goal as they tried to scramble together, put one in, and send the game into overtime.
Malmquist said, “I think that we came back in the second half and worked together as a team better - to come back and score again. If we were to play them again, we would do very well.”
Malmquist earned MASCAC Rookie of the Week on Oct. 9 and earned both Rookie of the Week and Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 16 and Oct. 23.
She said, “I think having such an awesome team has been helping with that and for allowing me to become a better player and grow confident.”
Unfortunately, Core's last goal was as close as the Rams came.
The Lancers won 3-2.
The Rams still forced 11 penalty corners to the Lancers three.
Framingham’s conference record fell to 5-4, and their overall record to 9-8.
The Rams travel to Westfield for the final game of the MASCAC Oct. 28.
Beck said, “Honestly, I don’t think there’s much more we need to prepare for. I think we’re fully there. I think it’s a very winnable game and we’ve just got to play our game.”