BABSON PARK, Mass.—First-year Jessica Evans (Southbury, Conn.) scored twice in the second quarter to help 14th-ranked Babson College defeat visiting Bates College, 3-1, in non-conference field hockey action on Friday afternoon at MacDowell Field.

With its second consecutive win, Babson improves to 6-1 on the year. Bates drops to 3-3 overall with the loss.

Senior Lauren Curley (Stow, Mass.) had a goal and classmate Quinn Greer (Providence, R.I.), junior Brianne McGrath (Newmarket, Ontario) and first-year Camille Marsh (Englewood, Colo.) each chipped in with an assist for the Beavers. Senior goalkeeper Cassidy Riley (Niantic, Conn.) finished with eight saves in the victory.

Senior Bridget Thompson (Newtown, Pa.) scored the Bobcats, who got six saves from junior goalkeeper Grace Biddle (State College, Pa.).

All of the scoring happened in a span of just over 10 minutes in the second quarter, beginning when Evans notched her first goal 1:19 into the stanza after Greer carried the ball along the end line before feeding it in front to put the Green and White ahead 1-0. Thompson tied the game exactly 60 seconds later when she tracked down the rebound of a shot by senior Emily Gianunzio (Darien, Conn.) and blasted it through traffic and inside the left post for her second marker of the year.

Babson went back in front just over two minutes later on Curley's second goal of the year. After starting the penalty corner she was at the left post behind the defense to tip-in McGrath's shot from the top of the circle. The Beavers added to their lead with 3:12 to go in the quarter as Marsh carried the ball into the circle and put a hard shot on net that was redirected past Biddle by Evans for her third tally of the season.

Riley reacted quickly to deny Gianunzio's redirection attempt with 2:48 to go in the third quarter and then stopped four more shots in the fourth to help Babson maintain its advantage. She stopped Gianunzio's blast from the top of the circle with a kick save and then pushed away a rebound attempt by Thompson less than a minute into the period.

Both teams finished with 15 total shots and nine on goal, and the Beavers held a slim 11-9 edge in penalty corners.

Both squads return to action next Tuesday as Babson hosts No. 3 Tufts at 6 p.m., while Bates takes on Thomas at 7 p.m.

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are now 10-12 all-time against Bates and have won two straight games in the series.
• Babson is now 5-0 this season when leading after three quarters.
• The Beavers are 4-0 this fall and have won 12 of their last 15 games at home going back to 2019.
• With Friday's win, Riley is now one of just three goalkeepers in program history to win 40 games along with Colleen Kelly '04 (43) and Jess Pashos '12 (47).