Murtagh, Moran Lead Men's Soccer to 4-3 Comeback Win over Framingham in OT

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior forward Conor Murtagh (Walpole, Mass.) potted the game-winning goal, and freshman midfielder Kane Moran (Attadale, Western Australia) tallied a pair of goals including the game-tying tally with 1:30 remaining in regulation, as the Bridgewater State University men's soccer team posted a dramatic 4-3 overtime victory over Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) rival Framingham State University on Saturday at Swenson Field.

Bridgewater State improves to 8-2 on the season and 3-0 in the MASCAC, while Framingham State slips to 4-6 overall and 2-1 in conference play. The Bears are 27-7-4 (.763) versus the Rams since 1980.

Murtagh provided the overtime heroics for the Bears with 4:45 remaining off a restart as he collected a service in the box from junior defender Jonathan Pires (Medford, Mass.) and beat the Framingham goaltender with a shot into the left side of the net.

For Murtagh, the goal marked his team-leading seventh of the season and 21st of his career.

The Rams jumped on top in the 23rd minute, as sophomore midfielder Gerardo Ramirez (Burlington, Mass.) staked the visitors to the 1-0 lead. Ramirez picked up a loose ball outside the 18 and stunned the Bears with a perfectly placed shot to the top right corner of the net from 25 yards out.

Senior forward Cory Cardeiro (Fall River, Mass.) made it a 2-0 game a little more than four minutes later as he beat the BSU keeper with a blast to the top left corner from 30 yards out.

After the Cardeiro goal, the Bears seemed to turn up the intensity and held the Rams without a shot over the final 18 minutes of the first half.

Bridgewater cut the deficit to 2-1 off a long throw-in from senior defender Nicholas Keddie (Abington, Mass.) with just under six minutes remaining in the opening stanza. Pires redirected the throw with a header into the goalie box and Kane knocked it into the wide open net for his first collegiate goal.

Framingham would take the 2-1 lead into the intermission.

Senior midfielder Patrick Horgan (Plymouth, Mass.) knotted the score at 2-2 with a header inside the near post off a corner kick from freshman midfielder Diego DelasCasas (Miami, Fla.) in the 63rd minute. The goal was the first of the season for Horgan.

Cardeiro reclaimed the lead for the Rams in the 76th minute with his MASCAC-leading eighth goal of the season as he blistered a shot under the crossbar from 29-yards out on a direct kick.

Moran provided the regulation heroics for the Bears off a restart with time winding down. Senior midfielder Sawyer Fleck (Foxboro, Mass.) served the direct kick from just outside the corner of the 18 towards the far post to Moran who redirect the ball inside the left post.

Bridgewater held a 15-10 shot advantage including a 10-4 edge after halftime. Corner kick opportunities were also in favor of the Bears by a margin of 7-2.

Murtagh and Cardeiro registered five shots apiece to lead all players.

BSU junior goaltender Colin Jepson (Sandwich, Mass.) made two saves in net for the Bears, while junior Josh Arno (Natick, Mass.) stopped four shots between the pipes for the Rams.

The Bears host Roger Williams University on Wednesday afternoon at 3:30, while the Rams entertain Springfield College on Tuesday at four.