Men's Soccer at Emerson
Saturday, October 29—4 p.m.
Rotch Field—Boston, Mass.
THE SERIES
Babson and Emerson will meet for the fourth time on Saturday afternoon in the regular-season finale for both teams. The Beavers have won each of their previous meetings against the Lions since 2013.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
The Beavers enter Saturday's finale with a two-point lead over Springfield in the NEWMAC standings and need just a draw to earn the top seed in next week's conference tournament. With a win, Babson would clinch its first regular season league title since 2012.
LAST MEETING
Andrew Gonzalez '16 gave the Beavers the lead in the 17th minute and sophomore Noah Parker tacked on a pair of second-half goals in a 5-0 victory against Emerson on October 31, 2015, in Babson Park. Fellow sophomores Carlo Araujo and Youssef Silwanis also had one goal apiece for the Green and White.
SCOUTING THE LIONS
Emerson (5-10-0, 1-5-0 NEWMAC) snapped its three-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over Fisher on Wednesday. Senior Duncan Bochicchio scored twice in the second half to complete his hat trick for the Lions, who got 12 saves from junior goalkeeper Lucas Fischer. Bochicchio (7-2-16) is tied for seventh in the league in scoring, while sophomores Tyler Yassky (2-1-5) and Paul Bou Aziz (2-0-4) have tallied one game-winning marker this fall. Fischer has made 11 starts posting a 1.89 goals against average and a .741 save percentage to go along with three clean sheets.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
Babson (10-4-3), which remained seventh in the NCAA regional rankings, defeated Bridgewater State, 5-0, for its fifth straight win on Wednesday. Senior Adam Villari scored twice in the first eight minutes for the Beavers, who had 10 different players record a point in the game. Villari (7-2-16) is tied for the conference lead with five game-winning markers, Parker (3-3-9) has a goal and an assist over the last two matches and senior Caleb Long leads the Green and White with four assists. Junior goalkeeper James Takami is tied for the league lead in saves and owns a 0.74 goals against average and a .829 save percentage to go along with six shutouts in 17 starts.
SET UP MAN
Villari finished with a career-high three assists in last season's 5-0 win over Emerson.
LEAGUE RESULTS ON THE ROAD
The Beavers have won 12 consecutive matches away from home against conference opponents, 11 of which have come by a single goal.
DYNAMIC DEFENSE
Babson has allowed just four goals during its 10-game unbeaten streak and has been even better during its current five-game winning streak, conceding just one marker and posting four shutouts while scoring 11 goals.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The Beavers are 6-0-1 this season and 35-4-3 going back to 2012 when leading at halftime.
