BOX SCORE

BABSON PARK, Mass. – Host Babson College closed the game with five unanswered goals to defeat visiting Clark University, 12-6, in a Pilgrim League men's lacrosse matchup at MacDowell Field on a rainy Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Beavers improved to 8-6 overall and 3-1 in the conference, and in the process locked up the program's 11th consecutive bid to the Pilgrim League Tournament.

With the loss, Clark fell to 5-8 overall and 1-3 in conference play.

Leading Babson's scoring attack were senior captains Andrew Packer (Hudson, Ohio) and Armand Wilson (Fairfield, Conn.), who celebrated their final regular season home game with a team-high four points apiece. Packer scored three goals and dished out one assist, while Wilson added two goals and two helpers. Six other players scored goals for the Beavers, with junior Tom Mallon (Manhasset, N.Y.) netting a pair.

Defensively, Babson received six caused turnovers from senior captain Ryan Kucinski (Cohasset, Mass.) and five groundballs from junior Jeff MacCune (Braintree, Mass.). Sophomore Alex Patinkin (Providence, R.I.) and first-year Ryan Dawidjan (Worcester, Mass.) each picked up four groundballs, and sophomore goalie Jay Whalen (Westwood, Mass.) stopped four shots in net.

Clark was paced by junior Chris Johnson (Amherst, Mass.), who scored three of his team's six goals. Junior Phil Winslow (Providence, R.I.), senior Kyle Klapp (Schenectady, N.Y.), and first-year Jeffrey Wasson (Lake Forest, Ill.) also netted goals, Klapp added a game-high seven groundballs, and junior goalie Andrew DeVito (Glastonbury, Conn.) finished a valiant effort in net with 16 saves.

The Cougars grabbed the lead twice in the first four minutes of a back-and-forth first quarter, but Babson answered each time. Mallon then gave the hosts their first lead of the day at 3:34, but Clark tied it when senior Eugene Arsenault (South Portland, Maine) assisted Winslow at 1:23.

The Beavers dominated the second quarter, netting four straight goals while keeping the visitors off the board. MacCune, Patinkin, Wilson, and Packer all found the net in the period, which saw Babson take a  6-3 lead into the half.

Clark battled back in the third behind Johnson, who opened the quarter with a goal and later completed a 3-1 Cougar run with his third strike of the game to make it 7-6 with 4:40 on the clock. However, that would prove to be the last goal allowed by Whalen and the stingy Babson defense, as the hosts rattled off the final five goals of regulation. Wilson converted a feed from fellow senior Thomas Cykana (Minnetonka, Minn.) to make it 8-6 at the end of the third, and Mallon, Packer, junior Paul Grip (Shrewsbury, Mass.) each scored in the first seven minutes of the fourth to extend Babson's advantage to 11-6. Senior defenseman Michael Lydon (Norfolk, Mass.) then capped off the victory by taking a pass from Patinkin and scoring his first goal of the season with 5:50 remaining, giving the Beavers the 12-6 win.

Prior to the game, there was a brief ceremony in honor of Babson's eight seniors. During their careers, Wilson, Lydon, Cykana, Packer, Kucinski, Jake Nichols (Longmeadow, Mass.), Nick Dager (Litchfield, N.H.), and captain and injured All-Conference defenseman Christian Ebert (Boxford, Mass.) helped the Beavers improve from a combined record of 11-21 in their first two seasons to an 18-13 mark over the last two years. With Saturday's win, they also helped guide the team to four consecutive bids to the Pilgrim League Tournament.