On October 29th, the Framingham State and Bridgewater State women’s soccer teams played an important Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference game. A win for Bridgewater State gave the team the conference title and top seed in the postseason tournament; a win for Framingham State would keep its postseason hopes alive.

After a scoreless first half, things got interesting. About seven minutes into the second half, a ball was played in front of the Bridgewater State goal. It rattled around in traffic and ended up in the back of the net. By all accounts, Framingham State had taken a big step toward earning a postseason berth.

You would have thought that the Framingham State players would have been jumping up and down, celebrating a hard-fought score. Nope. You would think the team would have immediately started strategizing about how to keep Bridgewater State’s offense quiet for the rest of the game. Nope. You would think that the fact that the referees awarded Framingham State the goal would have been enough. Nope, nope, nope.

It turns out that the ball had passed through the side netting of the goal and wasn’t a score after all. The Framingham State soccer players ran to their coaches to tell them what had happened, and after conferring with the referees, the goal was awarded anyway. The scoreboard showed: Framingham State 1, Bridgewater State 0.

Well, Framingham State didn’t want to win that way, so the team permitted Bridgewater State to take an uncontested shot on goal to even the score, 1-1. Bridgewater State went on to win 3-2 and took home the MASCAC title.

It dawns on me that when we turn on the sports news each night, we are inevitably going to be shown clips of the most colorful touchdown celebrations and basketball players turning around and shouting at their opponents after a dunk. It is often a lack of sportsmanship that entertains viewers, so that is what the networks show us.

I find it more invigorating to share and celebrate stories like this than ones about Terrell Owens’ latest antics on the Cowboys’ sidelines. I am constantly refreshed and energized by the student-athletes who choose to do the right thing.

This wasn’t a Division I men’s basketball game, but these Division III student-athletes wanted to win their contest just as much as their more publicized counterparts. But they wanted to do it the right way, under equitable circumstances, because winning with a cloud over their heads just wasn’t worth it.

Framingham State lost its soccer game, but it certainly won a new fan. The actions of the players not only speak to the quality of individual Tucker Reynolds has on his soccer team, but to the importance of sportsmanship in intercollegiate athletics.