By Izabela Gage
Staff Writer
Women’s lacrosse ended their regular season with an undefeated conference record of 6-0. They now hold an overall record of 14-3.
Framingham defeated the Bridgewater State University Bears 24-11 April 20, and sophomore goalkeeper Bella DiMare tallied five saves and achieved a career milestone of an ongoing 200 career saves.
The Bears started with the first goal, but the Rams responded less than a minute later.
The Rams continued on the attack as senior attacker Hannah Guerin boosted the Rams' score again by scoring another unassisted goal.
Guerin earned MASCAC Offensive Player of the Week alongside DiMare earning MASCAC Defensive Player of the Week April 29. This marks Guerin’s fifth and DiMare's third week with their respective titles.
Both teams fought for the lead in the first quarter, counterbalancing each other’s goals. The quarter ended 5-5.
The Rams scored 10 goals in the second, overpowering the Bears, who only scored three.
By the end of the first half, Framingham had a 7-point lead, 15-8.
Framingham let up on the aggression in the third quarter, only scoring five goals. DiMare let in one shot from Bridgewater, and the quarter ended 20-9.
The Rams continued scoring in the fourth quarter, netting four goals, while the Bears netted two.
With Guerin’s unparalleled skills, she broke the program record for points in a single game with 14 points - nine goals and five assists. She previously broke the program record last year with 12 points.
Freshman defender Lindsey Cox said seeing the records be broken “is a very cool experience to be watching in real time.”
Another freshman defender, Jenny Gallagher, agreed with Cox. “It’s so surreal. This is a very cool thing to happen, especially watching it as a freshman.”
The Rams also beat the Worcester State University Lancers 20-11 April 23, which marks their fifth game of tallying at least 20 points.
Framingham started the game slowly, scoring one goal in the first six minutes. Worcester took the lead 4-1 until the Rams kicked into gear and netted four goals.
Junior midfielder Molly Lanier and junior attacker Leah Green each tallied a goal, and the first quarter ended 7-5.
Worcester dominated the first half of the second quarter, netting four shots, but Framingham bounced back and countered with three.
The Rams maintained the lead 10-9.
FSU overpowered WSU for the last half of the game, scoring six goals in the third, and four in the fourth. DiMare only let in one shot in each quarter, and the Rams won with a 9-point gap.
Senior midfielder Rachel Erickson scored five goals and one assist in their win against Worcester State, and she has now recorded 200 career points.
Their game against Westfield State University April 27 was competitive. Neither team scored for the first three minutes, but Framingham gained a 3-0 lead halfway through the quarter.
The score was tied 4-4 by the end of the first quarter, but their determination stayed strong in the second quarter.
Framingham scored five goals, and DiMare only let in two of Westfield’s shots. By the end of the quarter, the Rams were up 9-6.
In the third, Framingham ended up losing their lead when Westfield scored four goals that went unanswered.
The Rams and the Owls went back and forth, before the third ended with Westfield scoring another goal, taking the lead 12-11.
The Rams did not lose their determination, and scored three goals in the fourth.
The game went into overtime with both teams sitting at 14 points. Lanier scored the winning overtime goal, assisted by Guerin, with only 19 seconds left in the game.
Framingham’s win against Westfield is the first time they have beaten them since the 2021 season, which consisted of only four losses.
This was Westfield’s first conference loss since the 2021 season.
They claimed the title of 2024 MASCAC Regular Season Champions, with an undefeated conference record.
The Rams conquered the Bridgewater State Bears for a second time May 2, knocking them out of the championship game slot.
Framingham started with a goal by Guerin, but the game stopped momentarily due to the weather.
When the game resumed, the Rams were able to score four more goals in the first. The Bears only netted one, and the quarter ended 5-1.
Bridgewater started the second quarter with their second goal, but Framingham answered with two more.
The quarter ended with the Rams having a five-point lead, 7-2.
Framingham stayed on top of the game, and scored five goals in the third. The quarter finished 12-5.
The fourth quarter quieted down, and the Rams opened with a goal. Bridgewater responded with two more, but Framingham did not let them go unanswered, and netted another before the end of the game.
The Rams won 14-7 and now look forward to the last game of the season against second seed Westfield State.
Junior attacker Hailey Baker scored one goal and assisted on two against Bridgewater, recording an ongoing 100 career points.
Baker said going into the championship game, “Our main focus will be trying to play smart lacrosse, making smart plays, and being smart with the ball.”
The Rams host the MASCAC Championship game against Westfield State May 4.
Head Coach Casey Bradley said, “We beat them once and we can beat them again, as long as we show up and we play the full 60 minutes and the girls just leave it all out on the field.”
Gallagher said, “We feel very prepared going into this game, especially since we won in overtime last game.”