Beavers Earn Sixth NCAA Tournament Berth in Last Seven Years With Win

NORTON, Mass.—Sophomore Shane Mandel (Syosset, N.Y.) scored the go-ahead goal just 3:46 after halftime and junior goalkeeper Stephen Donato (Morgansville, N.J.) made five saves, as fourth-seeded Babson College defeated third-seeded WPI, 2-1, to claim its sixth New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's soccer championship on Sunday afternoon at Keefe Field.

Winners of six in a row and 10 of its last 11 matches, Babson (17-5-0) clinched its first conference title since 2010 and earned the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Championship will be the sixth in the last seven years and the 25th overall for the Green and White.

WPI, which was making its first NEWMAC finals appearance, drops to 14-5-0 and is still in contention for an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship.

Beavers' junior Andrew Gonzalez (Durham, Conn.) was selected as the NEWMAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player after contributing a goal in Saturday's 2-0 semifinal win over Wheaton to go along with an assist on Sunday. He also anchored a defense that allowed just one goal in three conference tournament matches this week.

The Green and White jumped out to an early 1-0 lead as senior Justin Laurenzo (Park Ridge, N.J.) scored his conference-leading 15th goal, blasting home a blocked shot that caromed toward the left post and past the outstretched hands of Engineers' first-year goalkeeper Connor Hoekele (Granby, Conn.). Gonzalez was credited with an assist on Laurenzo's tally, as his shot near the right post was blocked by an Engineers' defender following a long throw-in from the right sideline.

WPI leveled the score in the 31st minute on a perfectly executed set piece from outside the box on the left flank. After a foul was called on Babson, junior Kurt Naugler (Westford, Mass.) positioned the ball about 20 yards away from the goal and struck a sharp, low cross toward the middle of the net that junior back Zach Harmony (Dayton, Ohio) one-timed in mid-air behind Donato for his second marker of the year.

The Beavers went back on top for good early in the second half, as Mandel struck for his first career goal. Junior Mario Vicente (Miami, Fla.) initiated the scoring play with a shot from outside the box that Hoeckele stopped with a dive to his right. Classmate Tyler Carlos (Prospect, Conn.) immediately pounced on the loose ball and fired another shot on target that was denied by Hoeckele before Mandel buried the second rebound for a 2-1 lead.

The Engineers had four quality chances to equalize but came up empty each time. Donato denied a shot by first-year Brendan Nemes (Kingston, Mass.) in the 59th minute and a header by senior Sam Russell (Glastonbury, Conn.) with 2:39 left in regulation, while headers from both classmate Eric Crevoiserat (Glastonbury, Conn.) and sophomore Nate Peterson (Mashpee, Mass.) went wide.

Donato, who made 11 saves in three tournament matches, has now conceded just three goals during the Green and White's current six-game winning streak.

Hoeckele finished with six stops on the day for WPI.

The Beavers held a slim 17-15 edge in shots, while both teams attempted five corner kicks apiece.

Babson, which was fifth in the NCAA regional rankings released on Wednesday, will await the announcement of its NCAA Tournament first round opponent on Monday's NCAA Tournament Selection Show at 1:30 p.m.

GAME NOTES: The Beavers are now 37-8-2 all-time against WPI and 3-0-1 against the Engineers in NEWMAC Tournament matches…Babson is 6-3-1 in its 10 NEWMAC championship game appearances, claiming league tournament titles in 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2014…the Beavers' 17 victories this fall are their most since 1991 and are tied for the second most in program history…Babson is 16-0-0 this season when holding its opponents to one goal or less…Laurenzo's 15 goals are tied for the fourth most in single-season history.

Note: Portions of this release courtesy of Wheaton College.