In the Lady Ram’s first meeting against Fitchburg State, the team came up short in double overtime, losing their home opener 2-1, last Saturday afternoon.

After the game, Suffolk Head Coach Ashley Van Vechten stressed keeping confidence going forward.

“To the team,” said Van Vechten in an interview with The Suffolk Journal, “stay hungry and keep your head up. Hopefully we will learn this lesson today and use it going forward.”

In their first game of the season, The Rams beat Elms College 1-0 in double overtime. Junior forward Caitlin Ryan, who transferred from Franklin Pierce University, scored the winning goal with less than four minutes left in the match.

Against Fitchburg State, the team got a taste of the same heartbreak they served to Elms last week, as Fitchburg scored the winning goal with less than a minute and a half left in the game.

In a windy and sunny game, Suffolk dominated almost every aspect of the match with more than double the shots of Fitchburg. Suffolk’s lone goal came in the first half. Junior midfielder Addisyn Lanza sent a ball up through the middle to sophomore midfielder Carley Pearce, who dribbled past her defender, drew the goalie out, and zipped a right-footer over the goalies shoulder for the score.

Despite the wide discrepancy in shot attempts, it was a story of two halves for the Rams. In the first Suffolk had an 11-2 shot lead over Fitchburg. In the rest of the game Suffolk had ten shots to Fitchburg’s seven.

Suffolk sophomore forward Julia Hunt expressed some of the team’s offensive frustration in an interview with The Journal.

“We know we need to finish the ball,” said Hunt. “We need to get it into the back of the net, and going into next practice were going to strictly focus on attacking. You can’t win a game unless you score the ball.”

This is the first back to back double overtime game for Suffolk since 2009. In an interview with The Suffolk Journal, Pearce described the toll all there extra minutes had on the team.

“All of our legs are dying, but our mindset is ‘No, we’ve got to win.’ It’s a lot for your body, but you just have to keep running. Every part of your body is telling you to stop except for your brain,” said Pearce.

A second attempt on a Fitchburg free kick from the center of the box tied up the game in regulation. After a scoreless first overtime, Fitchburg scored with little time to spare, squeaking out the win.

Van Vechten highlighted the play of sophomore defender Alyssa Barahona, who controlled the middle well for the whole game. Also Lanza, who kicked it into a gear that the team had been hoping to see since the preseason.

Despite the loss, the team played with relentless energy and great control, which is sure to continue into their next game against Mass Maritime College away on Monday, at 7:00.