by Madeline Scovotti

They battled their way through an aggressive game filled with injuries, missing players, and plenty of yellow cards, but the odds were stacked just too high against the Suffolk University Rams for them to pull out a victory against Emmanuel College last Saturday night.

With the playoffs quickly approaching as the regular season comes to an end, it is crucial for the Rams to win every game they can to ensure their place in the playoffs as well as a good seed. The Rams’ latest home game against Emmanuel ending in a 0-3 loss for the Rams wasn’t exactly the outcome the team was hoping for this late in the season, to say the least.

The game was extremely aggressive, especially on Emmanuel’s end. So much so, that only about 25 minutes into the game Emmanuel’s Connor Bradshaw received a red card, expelling him from the game and leaving the Saints down a player for the remainder of the competition.

Even with this advantage, the Rams were facing too many setbacks themselves to really utilize this to seal a victory. The team was not only down two players, but also faced a huge offensive setback when top-scorer Alberto Bittan was injured early on in the first half and was unable to continue playing in the second half.

Senior Djibril Niang, one of the players forced to sit out due to suspension, is concerned about how the loss might negatively affect the morale of the team, but is optimistic about the team’s chances of getting into the playoffs.

“This doesn’t really badly affect our team in terms of making the playoffs,” said Niang. “I think if we have one more win, we’ll be in. Right now we have to win our two last conference games to have a good seed so it really depends on how we do in those two games. This loss wasn’t bad, it’s just bad for the morale of the team because we wanted to win all three games and get a good position in the standings.”

There is no denying that the Rams are facing more than a few setbacks as the regular season comes to a close.

After this loss against Emmanuel, their upcoming game against Lasell, which will also be their final home game of the regular season, will be a crucial game for the Rams. The outcome of the game has the possibility of providing Suffolk with a decent seed for the playoffs along with a much needed morale booster.

Niang believes that as long as the Rams, “sticks together, works harder as a team, and gets those wins back,” they will be able to ensure their place in the playoffs, a decent seed, and a fighting chance of taking the competition by storm.