KEENE, N.H.   10/16/12 – A pair of late second half goals lifted Framingham State University to a 2-0 shutout victory over Keene State College in non-conference men's soccer action at Owl Athletic Complex on Tuesday night.

Freshman Osman Abdelgadir (Worcester, Mass.) broke a scoreless tie when he tipped in a pass from sophomore Cory Cardeiro (Westport, Mass.) to give the Rams a 1-0 lead with 8:37 to play.

Less than a minute later, sophomore Nick Cotter (Sandwich, Mass.) out-raced a KSC defender and drove the ball into the far corner to make it 2-0.

The loss drops the Owls to 8-6-1.  Posting its first win over the Owls in four meetings, Framingham State (7-5-2) has won six of its last seven games.

Carrying the play, Keene State couldn't capitalize on several scoring chances in the first half.  Ram senior goalie Sam Yoder (Southbridge, Mass.) came up with a couple of big saves, getting a hand on a drive by junior Brian Swindell (Milford, Mass.) and stopping a header by senior Kyle Leavitt (Plymouth, Mass.) in the closing seconds of the half.

The Owls held off the Rams early in the second half.  In the opening minute, KSC junior goalie Malcolm Cheney (Hopkinton, Mass.) went up to get a rising shot from 25-yards out by senior Will Menter (Haverhill, Mass.).  KSC senior back Blake Nyman (Plymouth, Mass.) stepped in front of a two-on-one break by Jpherson Cardoso (Framingham, Mass.) and Cotter a the corner of the goal. Two minutes later, Cheney made a diving save on a shot by Cardoso to keep the game scoreless.

The momentum switched back to the Owls later in the half.  Leavitt's drive from 25-yard out hit the cross bar.  Sophomore Brett Sullivan (Barrington, R.I.) had a couple of chances to give KSC the lead with 17:10 to play.  Yoder made a kick save on his first bid and his second shot on a rebound sailed wide of the net.

Regaining control over the final 10 minutes of play, the Rams finally found the back of the net.

Keene State outshot FSU 21-13.  Both teams had two corner opportunities.

Cheney finished the game with four saves.  Yoder turned aside seven shots to pick-up his third shutout of the season. 

Both teams return to conference play on Saturday.  Keene State travels to UMass-Dartmouth for a LEC game against the Corsairs (1 p.m.).  The Rams host Westfield State in MASCAC action at 12 p.m.