After coming off a 2-1 victory over Wellesley, the Rebels came into Framingham with their heads held high—only to leave in disbelief. The Flyers upset the Rebels 3-1 in a heated battle that was simply too much for Walpole to handle. With this most recent loss, the 9-3-2 Rebels now trail Wellesley (10-4) in the Herget Division of the Bay Sate League.
The game started off relatively well for the Rebels. Good play from sophomores Bobby Ivatts and Maurice Young helped fill the gap left by injured senior Captain Tim Sullivan. Around 20 minutes in, a superb crossing pass by junior midfielder John Lochead found the head of senior superstar forward Conor Murtagh, who was able to finish off the play with yet another head goal. This puts Murtagh’s season total at 12, placing inside the Boston Globe’s Top 20 for scoring. “I’m just playing as hard as I can,” said Murtagh modestly. The Rebels ended the first half with a 1-0 lead.
The second unfortunately did not go as the Rebels had planned it. Junior Captain Nolan Murray received his second yellow card of the season and was sent off the field just after the half began. The MIAA states that a third yellow card results in a one-game suspension— so Murray has to watch his step.
“I just need to keep my cool. It hurts the team when I doing stuff like that,” said Murray. In response, Framingham flew out of the gates, scoring their first goal almost immediately. Without one of their top defenders, the Rebels weren’t able to stop a long distance shot from a Framingham midfielder. Senior keeper Giorgio Sarkis was able to make the initial save, but a scrum in front of the net resulted in a goal for Framingham, tying the game at 1. The Flyers quickly followed up with a second goal. A Framingham forward displayed some fancy footwork by dribbling through several Rebel defenders before he capped off the play with a laser shot from the edge of the penalty box. The third goal was an especially disheartening one. With only 5 minutes remaining, the boys had all but given up. A Framingham player dribbled past sophomore Colin Murray and crossed it into the box. Attempting to clear the ball out of danger, junior Connor McCarthy mis-kicked the ball, sending it towards his own net. Unfortunately Sarkis was unable to make the save. With that late goal, the scored became 3-1 Flyers, and that’s how it would remain.
With this most recent defeat, the Rebels find themselves behind Wellesley in the Herget Division of the BSL. In addition, the Rebels have struggled against the Carey Division’s heavy-hitters: they have only beaten Braintree. However, the Rebels have been faced with adversity before, and they look forward to Thursday’s game against Milton. The Rebels stomped Milton 4-0 the first time around, so they hope it will be more of the same. “We just want to play Walpole soccer. We know if we do that, we’ll be just fine,” said Murray.
