FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- The Framingham State University men's soccer team tallied the game's only goal in the 22nd minute as the fourth seeded Rams defeated #5 Bridgewater State University, 1-0, in the opening round of the 2017 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Men's Soccer Tournament on Tuesday night at Maple Street Field.

With the win, the Rams are now 9-9-1 on the season and advance to the semifinals on Friday night where they will face top seed Salem State in Salem at 7 p.m. The Bears end the season with an overall record of 6-10-3.

The Bears had a chance to strike first just over three minutes into the game as freshman Kevin Roberts (Medway, Mass.) got behind the Rams defense and fired a shot on net that was saved by the Rams' netminder Josh Arno (Natick, Mass.).  The Rams had a pair of chances in the next ten minutes to get on the board, including a shot from junior Justin Hansen (Levittown, NY) that hit the crossbar and a header off a direct kick from junior Ken Stahovish (Springfield, Mass.) that sailed just wide of the net.

The Rams capitalized on one of their two corner kicks in the first half to grab the 1-0 lead. Freshman Pedro Santos (Medford, Mass.) sent the corner into the box and junior Isaac DeSouza (Sao Paulo, Brazil) corralled the ball in traffic and one timed a low shot inside the far post.

Just over five minutes later, DeSouza had a chance to extend the lead with a direct kick, but BSU sophomore keeper Nate Morgado (Dartmouth, Mass.) came up with the stop.

In the second half, the Bears had a pair of chances right out of the gate from junior Kane Moran (Perth, Australia), but Ram defenders Johance Liverpool (Arima, Trinidad) and Ben Britton (Peabody, Mass.) blocked a shot apiece before the ball could reach the net.

The Bears had a pair of chances in the final ten minutes of the game including a header from junior Kessy Alves (Medway, Mass.) that went just wide of the cage with just over eight minutes remaining. Hansen had a chance to give the Rams an insurance goal at the seven minute mark, but his shot was deflected by the Bears' keeper. Stahovish corralled the rebound, but his bid went high. The Bears had one last chance to tie the score in the final minute on a direct kick from junior Filipe Gomes (Fogo, Cape Verde), but his shot went high and the Rams secured the victory by running out the clock.

The Bears outshot the Rams 21-14 in the contest and held an 8-4 edge in corner kicks. Arno earned the victory in net for the Rams making nine saves, while Morgado made four stops in the setback.