By Kyra Tolley Staff Writer The Rams tied the Fitchburg State University Falcons 2-2 in an eventful last game of the season. The team concluded their season with a 1-13-3 overall record and a conference record of 1-5-1. Fitchburg’s postseason ranking and chances of getting a bye depended on a win against Framingham. From the first whistle, both teams brought an aggressive spirit to the field. Together, the Rams and the Falcons accumulated 38 fouls during the course of the game. Head Coach Adam Gabbard said, “There’s a little bit of history between both teams. … We knew that we weren’t going to make the playoffs, but we knew we could kind of ruin things for them.” The first scoring opportunity of the game came in the 2nd minute when freshman Michael Jokic’s shot on goal was stopped by Fitchburg State goalkeeper Alexander Carvalho. The Falcons quickly responded with a shot on goal saved by goalkeeper Timothy Singleton. The fouls started early in the 3rd minute when the first two fouls by Fitchburg were recorded. The Rams went on the attack in the 7th minute when a shot on goal by junior Gustav Hemmingsen was saved by Carvalho. The pace of the game slowed down heading into the 9th minute, but the ensuing series of fouls resulted in one yellow card each for Gustav Hemmingsen and senior Karl Hemmingsen. Over the following 2 minutes came a pair of missed shots by Fitchburg and even more fouls traded between the teams. Sophomore Landon Medeiros answered the Falcons’ opportunities with one of his own - a shot on net that Carvalho saved once again. In the 21st minute, Gustav Hemmingsen made his second attempt on goal with a shot saved by Carvalho. Twenty-three minutes in, a long ball over the top of the Falcons’ defense created a significant look at the net for senior Bryce Borletto-McCray, who got a head on the ball with enough velocity to force Carvalho to tip it over the net. Freshman Yuji DaSilva took the resulting corner kick, which sophomore Jack Holt got on the end of with a bouncing volley to score the first goal of the game. Holt said, “Usually I try to get in there and win a header, but from experience playing, sometimes you know where the ball might drop, so I kind of dropped off from the players running into the box. “It fell where I thought it would, and I got to get a shot off,” he added. The Rams and the Falcons exchanged scoring opportunities until the 29th minute, when a confrontation broke out among multiple players of each team. A red card was handed out to one player of each team, which effectively brought both teams down to 10 men. Ejected from the game were Karl Hemmingsen and Fitchburg’s Liam Evans. Karl Hemmingsen said, “Our season was done, so I was trying to spoil their season. I knew I was getting a red, so I was just trying to take one guy with me - get them to get a red, too.” In the 36th minute, a lob into the box gave senior Lachlan Forgan a chance at a header while facing away from the net that missed just high of the goal. The final 9 minutes of the first half involved a combination of shots and fouls between both teams, but the Rams had the last word with a shot on goal from freshman Jose Figueroa that was saved by Carvalho. Fitchburg began the second half strong, with multiple shots on offense before they were awarded a penalty kick that successfully passed Singleton to bring the game to a 1-1 tie. Two minutes later, the Rams attempted to capitalize on a free kick, but Forgan headed it out of bounds. The following 2 minutes saw more offensive takes by Framingham, but none of them rolled in. From the 61st minute until the 66th, Fitchburg contributed more shots and corner kicks and committed additional fouls. Holt responded to the Falcons’ uptick in offensive play with a shot from outside the 18-yard line that took an unexpected deflection, but Carvalho was still able to get a glove on the ball and make the save. More offense for Fitchburg increased tension heading into the 77th minute, when two Framingham players were given yellow cards - Figueroa and sophomore Abdellah Eddahbi. A few minutes later, a yellow card was given to the Falcons. In the 82nd minute, momentum favored Fitchburg. Within just 2 minutes, the Falcons had 3 shots on goal, all of which Singleton stopped. Gustav Hemmingsen stepped up to take a free kick from within the Falcons’ defensive half in the 87th minute. The ball took multiple deflections before Eddahbi was able to capitalize on the set piece and bring the score to 2-1. Within the same minute, Fitchburg quickly counterattacked and drew another penalty kick. The Falcons successfully tied up the game 2-2, but the tension of the game provoked more unrest among the players. With less than 4 minutes left in the game, another two red cards were handed out - this time to Gustav Hemmingsen and Fitchburg’s Brandon Gonzalez. In the final moments of the game, both teams had attacking opportunities, but neither was able to score again. Gabbard said the chippiness between the players made the game more exciting and the energy brought by his team against Fitchburg will be seen more consistently next year. With the transition into the 2025 season, Gabbard said, “I think the class we have coming in is a really young, hungry, talented group, so I think you’ll see a little bit more of today, but for the whole season, versus just the last game.”