Courtesy Framingham State Sports Information

Framingham, Mass.  — The Framingham State University men’s soccer team has been selected to participate in the 2010 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Men’s Soccer Championship Tournament as the sixth seed.  The Rams will travel to third seed Salve Regina University on Wednesday, November 10^th at 1 p.m.

The Rams, led by eighth year head coach Dean Nichols, are making their second ECAC Tournament appearance and their first since 2007 when they advanced to the semifinals.  The Rams (11-9-1) were the fourth seed in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Championship Tournament where they eliminated top seed Westfield State on penalty kicks in the semifinals before falling to third seed Salem State in the finals. 

The Rams are led by the 2009 and 2010 MASCAC Player of the Year Jason Silva (Northbridge, Mass.), who led the team and the conference with 37 points on 16 goals and five assists.  Senior midfielder Scotty Faria (Fall River, Mass.) was also a first team All-MASCAC selection along with back Joel Kayima (Malden, Mass.) and freshman midfielder Ronaldo Vieira (Framingham, Mass.) who was also the 2010 MASCAC Rookie of the Year.  Faria is second on the team with 11 goals and four assists for 26 points, while Vieira finished the season with 12 points before being sidelined with an injury.

Kayima and second team All-MASCAC selections Sean Austin (Winchester, Mass.) and Will Menter (Haverhill, Mass.) are all part of a Rams defense that allowed only 2.2 goals per game this season.

Salve Regina compiled a 13-5-2 overall record and a 9-3-1 record in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) which was good enough to earn the fourth seed in their conference tournament.  The Seahawks were eliminated in the semifinals by top seed Nichols College on penalty kicks. 

The Seahawks are led by Sean McAllister and Ken Johnson, both First Team TCCC Selections.  McAllister registered 41 points on the year on 14 goals and 13 assists, while Johnson scored nine goals and six assists for 24 points.