BABSON PARK, Mass.—Junior Gabby Anderson (Mahopac, N.Y.) stopped 10 shots and earned Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors as third-seeded Springfield College edged top-seeded Babson College, 5-4, in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament final on Sunday afternoon at MacDowell Field.

Babson, which was making its ninth championship game appearance over the last 10 years, will likely see its season come to a close at 13-4. Springfield (14-5) captured its sixth NEWMAC championship and earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The field for the Division III NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship will be unveiled on Sunday at 9:30 p.m.

Senior Kayla Farina (Newton, Mass.) had two goals and three ground balls, and sophomore Charlotte O'Halloran (Middletown, R.I.) added a goal and an assist for the Beavers. Junior Delaney Carroll (Acton, Mass.) and first-year Lauren Drakeley (Woodbury, Mass.) combined for five ground balls and five caused turnovers, while junior Stevie Burger (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) finished with three saves.

Senior Heather Raniolo (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) and sophomore Shelby Corsano (Bourne, Mass.) each scored twice, while senior Bianca Raniolo (Ossining, N.Y.) chipped in with a goal and an assist for the Pride. Sophomore Ann Mahoney (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) finished with three ground balls, two draw controls and two caused turnovers in the win.

Corsano gave Springfield a 1-0 advantage a little over four minutes into the contest and Heather Raniolo followed with a free-position strike after saves by both goalies to double the lead at the 19:21 mark. The Green and White got on the board midway through the first half  when Farina converted a feed from O'Halloran, but the Pride took advantage of a Babson turnover to make it 3-1 on Bianca Raniolo's tally 7:49 before the break.

The Beavers forced Springfield into turnovers on its first five possessions of the second half, but were stymied on offense as Anderson made three saves over the first eight minutes, two of which came on free-position attempts. The Pride offense responded as Corsano scored off a pass from Bianca Raniolo to take its biggest lead of the game at 4-1 with 21:19 remaining.

Babson's next possession ended with a turnover, but following a timeout, Farina caused a turnover in the midfield that led to junior Francesca Giovanucci's (Easton, Mass.) goal with 17:07 to play. Farina, who had been stopped by Anderson midway through the period, bounced back with a free-position tally to cut the Beavers' deficit to just 4-3 with 9:50 left.

Heather Raniolo scored on a free-position shot to push the Springfield lead back to 5-3 with just under six minutes remaining, but the Green and White forced three turnovers over the final five minutes to keep its comeback hopes alive. O'Halloran, who hit the post with a little over a minute to play, buried a free-position shot with 30 seconds left to make it a one-goal game. It's as close as Babson would get though, as Corsano won the ensuing draw allowing the Pride to run out the final seconds.

The Beavers held the edge in shots (16-11), ground balls (16-13) and draw controls (6-5), and also converted 15-of-16 clearing opportunities. The Pride went 19-of-21 on clears and both teams finished 2-for-6 on free-position shots.

GAME NOTES
• Babson is now 15-16 all-time against Springfield and 6-5 against the Pride in NEWMAC Tournament play.
• The Beavers are 5-4 all-time in NEWMAC Tournament championship game.
• Sunday's nine goals are tied for the lowest total in a NEWMAC title game with Springfield's 7-2 victory over Babson in 2013 going back to 1993.
• Saturday's loss was just the fourth for the Beavers in 22 postseason games at MacDowell Field going back to 1999.