By Izabela Gage Sports Editor The Framingham State women’s lacrosse team took down the Keene State College Owls in a dominant 18-6 win on March 26. Their overall record is now 3-4. The action-packed game for the Rams started off decisively, with Captain Leah Green, a senior, scoring a goal only 53 seconds in. The Owls won the following draw, but sophomore Olivia Berggren stayed strong on the defensive attack, intercepting a pass and picking up the ball before passing it to junior Hailey Baker. Baker ran downfield, passing the ball to junior Alessia Lye, who rocketed it from behind the net to Captain Maggie Grout, a senior, whose shot on goal was wide. Baker picked up the ground ball before it went out of bounds, and the Rams opened up the field. The ball was sent to Green who quickly connected a pass to Captain Molly Lanier, a senior, and she tried to find the back of the net, but it was saved by Keene’s goaltender Mabelle Bessette. Possession of the ball went back and forth for the next 3 minutes of the first quarter. The Owls earned a free-position shot, but junior goalkeeper Bella DiMare’s defense remained strong and stopped the shot with ease. Keene remained in the offensive zone and tallied two more shots but could not get past the goal line. The Rams cleared the ball from the defensive zone before the Owls received two green cards. With Framingham on the extra man offense, Baker cradled the ball and hung back behind the net. The ball was passed to Lanier while Green opened up and received it before sending it to Grout. Grout connected a direct pass to freshman Maddie Bosma, who found an opening in the top-left corner of the goal, bringing the score to 2-0. The Owls received a yellow card less than 3 minutes later, and the Rams used it to their advantage. Grout deepened the deficit with her first goal of the game, assisted by Lanier. With 1 minute remaining in the quarter, Keene scored on a free-position shot and broke their stalemate. The Owls opened up play in the second quarter, winning the initial draw and scoring only 34 seconds in. Framingham tallied two more shots, but Keene tied up the score less than a minute later. The Rams fought for possession of the ball for the next 2 minutes, before the Owls received another yellow card. Green used the penalty and found the back of the net, assisted by Baker, putting Framingham in the lead 4-3. Framingham did not lose momentum, and junior Kelley DeBellis scored her first goal of the game, bringing the score to 5-3. The Rams received two green cards and the Owls remained determined on the extra man offense and broke through DiMare’s defense 1:10 later, in an attempt to close the 1-point gap. For the rest of the second quarter, Framingham stayed dominant in the offensive zone. Only 34 seconds after DeBellis’s goal, Green found the back of the net for her third time, unassisted. Lanier met Green’s level of intensity, breaking through Bessette’s tough defense and scoring a goal of her own a minute later. Green extended the Rams’ lead to 8-4 with another goal, assisted by Baker. Framingham received a yellow card, and Keene attempted to use it to their advantage, but DiMare wouldn’t let the ball through to the net. With 50 seconds remaining, Green sent the ball to the left side of the net behind Bessette and the Rams ended the first half in the lead 9-4. Keene put in a different goalkeeper, Katelyn Nicotera, for the third quarter. Lanier started off the action with a fast shot that hit the goal post. After the Rams’ offensive reset, Lanier gained control of the ball and shot it right past Nicotera’s feet to bring the score to 10-4 only 24 seconds into the quarter. Senior Kaleigh Houlihan gained possession of the ball and passed it to Lanier, who looked to add another point to the Rams’ lead, but it was unfortunately saved by Nicotera. The Owls tallied two more goals in the next minute and 10 seconds, but Lanier remained dominant on offense and scored another goal for the Rams. Framingham won the following draw and DeBellis attempted to find the back of the net after running downfield, but the shot was saved by Nicotera. Green netted the ball twice more unassisted in the third quarter, one of which from a free-position shot, bringing the score to 12-6. After a save by DiMare, Grout picked up the ground ball and cleared their defensive zone, before Lanier sent the ball to the back of Keene’s net. Baker tried to score with 2 seconds left in the third quarter, but the ball deflected off of the goal post. Freshman goalkeeper Allie Wurms was subbed in for DiMare in the fourth quarter and saved every shot she faced. Wurms said she always does her best to cheer loudly for her teammates while on the sidelines. “This gets me hyped when I am in the cage.” The Owls did not lose motivation, and tried to score twice back-to-back, but one shot was high and the other was wide. Sophomore Lindsey Cox picked up the ground ball and Grout ended up taking a shot on net 40 seconds later, which was stopped by Nicotera. Keene received another yellow card, and Lye and Lanier both took shots on the net, but could not find the back of the net. DeBellis finally found a gap in Nicotera’s defense and brought the score to 15-6. The Rams remained relentless and a minute and 16 seconds later, Baker deepened the deficit with another goal. The Owls received their sixth yellow card of the game, and Houlihan took a shot on goal that was saved by Nicotera. Green went for the rebound and scored her eighth goal of the game. Green ended the game with the same energy she started it with, scoring with 1 second left, and the final score was 18-6. Green found the back of the net on nine of her 10 shots against the Owls and tallied one ground ball and one draw control. Green currently leads the team in goals and points this season, with 26 goals and five assists in seven games. Baker is leading the team in assists with a total of 13. The Rams outshot the Owls 37 to 20. Green tallied her 200th career point in their 16-7 win against Colby-Sawyer College March 17. DiMare hit 300 career saves in the Rams’ 15-6 loss against Endicott College March 19. Lanier tallied 100 career goals and 200 career draw controls in their win against Keene. Berggren said, “We are hoping to prove ourselves to the rest of the MASCAC this year, especially since we lost some vital players last year.” She added, “Redemption in the MASCAC means coming back stronger, more focused, and with a bigger desire to prove ourselves this year. Our overall goal is to win the MASCAC this year while maintaining a strong team culture and resilience.” The Rams are back on the road March 29 when they travel to Fitchburg State to face the Falcons in their first conference game of the season. Freshman Haleigh Cyrus said she is “super confident going into conference play. Our defense has been really solid this year and we continue to grow every game.” Berggren said, “We are really working on the little things that will help improve our game. These past few weeks, we’ve seen a lot of improvement in things like ground balls, talking, and good passes, but there’s always room to grow in those areas.” Cyrus said, “The biggest thing for us is to really focus on the small things - the more we focus on those the easier the game will be for us. I think for the Fitchburg game in particular we are looking to continue our strong, solid play that we showed against Endicott and Keene.” Wurms said the Rams are remaining positive and starting every game with “maximum energy and intensity.”