BABSON PARK, Mass.—First-year Melanie Jordan (Westford, Mass.) scored her first collegiate goal with 2:19 remaining in the second half  to help the Babson College field hockey team open its season with a 2-1 win over visiting Endicott College on Friday night at MacDowell Field.

Sophomore Soozin Kang  (Bordentown, N.J.) set up the winning tally, gaining possession along the right sideline and beating a defender to gain space before hitting Jordan, who was just inside the arc along the endline. Jordan turned and hit a hard blast from 12 yards out at a tough angle to beat Endicott goalkeeper Taylor Teixeira (Exeter, N.H.) inside the far post.

The winning goal came against the run of play for the Beavers, who struggled to create quality scoring chances for much of the second half. Endicott held a 10-3 advantage over the final 35 minutes, and had multiple chances to take the lead. Junior goalkeeper Kayla Florence (Milton, Mass.), who was superb in her first career start, made a handful of game-saving stops in the second half to help Babson stay in the game. She also got some help from junior back Alex Cabreros (San Diego, Calif.), who made two key defensive saves to keep the game deadlocked at one apiece.

Cabreros got a stick on a shot by Endicott's Elizabeth LeClair (Wilton, Maine) just in front of the goal line a little more than six minutes into the second half before Florence denied Hannah Thornberg's (Oakland, Maine) rebound attempt to thwart an early Endicott flurry.

Two of the Gulls best chances came in the final 10 minutes of regulation as sophomore Emily Sawchuck (Cumberland, Maine) missed just wide from inside the arc, and less than a minute later Florence again denied Thornberg on a shot in front of the net following a penalty corner, helping to set up Jordan's late heroics.

After both teams struggled to find their rhythm in the opening minutes of the game, Babson junior Morgan Lockwood (Feeding Hills, Mass.) nearly opened the scoring a little over 11 minutes in but was denied when Teixeira made a sprawling save on her shot from eight yards out. The Gulls countered with two great chances of their own as LeClair and Thornberg had looks from point blank range, but both were denied by Florence midway through the period.

Endicott would get on the board first in the 31st minute when sophomore Mackenzie Hurst (Gilford, N.H.) was able to knock home a pass from classmate Kathryn Walker (Middlebury, Conn.) on a scramble in front of the net to give the Gulls a 1-0 advantage. Babson wasted little time in leveling the score at 1-1 as senior Kelly Walsh (Gardner, Mass.) took a pass from Lockwood on the left flank following a penalty corner, knocking home her first goal of the season just 54 seconds before halftime.

Despite controlling a greater percentage of possession in the first half, the Beavers were outshot 6-4 during the first 35 minutes and 16-7 for the game. Endicott also held an 11-7 advantage in penalty corners, which included an 8-3 edge in the second half.

Florence made eight saves on the game for Babson (1-0), while Teixeira finished with three saves for Endicott (0-1).

Babson College will return to action on Sunday when they head to Saratoga Springs, N.Y. to take on Skidmore College in a 12 p.m. start, while Endicott College is off until next Saturday when they will be at Colby-Sawyer College at 1 p.m.