Owls and Fitchburg Play to 3-3 Draw

Westfield, Mass. – The Westfield State men's soccer team played to a 3-3 draw against Fitchburg State on senior day on a Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field in Westfield, Mass.

Fitchburg began the scoring early in the first half off of a turnover by the Owls deep in their own territory. First-year Gabriel Teixeira (Lunenburg, Mass.) intercepted a pass at the top of the box and touched the ball to senior Raphael Coelho (Framingham, Mass.) who delivered a strike past Owls goalkeeper Griffin Brown (Southborough, Mass.) for the lead.

Westfield would answer in the 19^th minute when junior Matthew Allen (Southwick, Mass.) sent a perfect cross into the middle of the box where first-year Nick Brown (Southwick, Mass.) would bury his team-leading fourth goal of the season to tie the game. It did not take long for the Falcons to respond as midfielder Gabriel Ramos (Chicopee, Mass.) sent a beautiful through ball to Coelho who would connect for his second goal of the game.

In the second half, Allen carried the ball up the far sideline and sent a cross into the middle of the box, where senior Ian Jalbert (Avon, Conn.) sent a header past Falcons goalie Sebastian Jaramillo (Dracut, Mass.) to even the game for the second time. In the 67^th minute, Coelho passed the ball off a free kick to Ramos who teed up a shot from the twenty-five yard-line that labeled the top right corner of the net as the Falcons would re-take the lead.

In the 79^th minute, off of a free kick, Brown shot the ball into the box which was punched away by Jaramillo to the feet of first-year Matthew Elmasian (Springfield, Mass.) who would score the equalizer.

The most decisive play of the game occurred with just two minutes remaining in regulation, as Westfield State was awarded a penalty kick after a foul that occurred in the box. Brown's penalty shot was drilled low and to the left side, but Jaramillo denied the opportunity to send the game to overtime.

In the first overtime period, Griffin Brown came up with back-to-back diving saves to preserve the tie, the second of which was a sprawling, finger-tip save that prevented Coelho from a hat trick and the victory. In the second overtime, Jaramillo recorded five saves to keep the game knotted-up at three.

Brown finished the game with seven saves and Jaramillo stopped ten shots. The Owls out-shot the Falcons 28-13 along with leading in shots on net (13-10).

Westfield State (4-11-1, 1-4-1 MASCAC) will wrap up the regular season on the road in a match-up against Salem State next Saturday at noon. Fitchburg State returns home to finish their regular season versus Rhode Island College on Tuesday followed by Framingham State on Saturday.