NEWMAC Tournament Final
Women's Lacrosse at Springfield
Saturday, May 7 | 1 p.m.
Stagg Field | Springfield, Mass.
SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 20-20 all-time against Springfield in a series that dates back to 1997.
• The Beavers have won five of the last eight games between the teams dating back to the 2017 NEWMAC Tournament final.
• Seven of the last 11 contests between Babson and the Pride have been decided by just one or two goals.
LAST MEETING
• Springfield jumped out to a 9-3 halftime lead and overcame 17 caused turnovers by Babson to capture a 15-10 victory over the Beavers back on March 19 in the NEWMAC opener for both teams at Stagg Field.
• Senior Sophia McCann scored a season-high three goals, senior Courtney Kaskey and first-year Amelia Novitch both tallied twice and junior Erin Jayne contributed three assists to go along with three caused turnovers for the Beavers. Senior Gwen Borning led all players with five ground balls to go along with two caused turnovers, sophomore Kayleigh Hacker tied for game-high honors with three caused turnovers and first-year goalie Kathleen Murphy stopped nine shots in the loss.
• Senior Taylor Pichel led all players with six goals, classmate Katie Martel scored four times, senior Holly Rivers added two goals and junior Arielle Johnson dished out a game-high four assists to lead the Pride. Sophomore Haley Moody turned away a season-high 13 shots in the victory.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Second-seeded Babson (13-5, 8-1 NEWMAC) brings an eight-game winning streak into Saturday's contest, including a 13-10 victory over third-seeded MIT in a conference semifinal matchup Wednesday at MacDowell Field.
• Junior Claudia Dodge tallied six points (4g, 2a) on offense and caused five turnovers on defense to lead the Beavers. Dodge also picked up three ground balls and two draw controls, and Kaskey scored three goals and collected a team-high five draw controls in the win. Jayne and sophomore Genevieve Bushey contributed two goals and two assists each, and senior Brooke Leveillee scooped up a team-high five ground balls.
• Jayne (49-36-85) leads the NEWMAC in points and is tied for second in goals and third in assists, while Dodge (40-17-57) ranks in the top 10 in assists, points, ground balls (48) and caused turnovers (37).
• Kaskey (45-9-54) is sixth in the NEWMAC in goals and eighth in points and Connolly is fourth in draw controls (83). Murphy (9.80 GAA, .405 sv. pct.) is third in the league in goals against average.
SCOUTING THE PRIDE
• Top-seeded Springfield (13-5, 8-1 NEWMAC) has won its last four games and seven of its last eight after Wednesday's 13-10 semifinal triumph over fourth-seeded Coast Guard at Stagg Field.
• Pichel led all players with five goals in the contest, while Martel became the 19th student-athlete to score 100 goals in a career as she pitched in with four goals. Graduate student Katie Campbell tallied 13 draw controls, while sophomore Hannah Hibbert contributed four caused turnovers in the win.
• Pichel (49-10-59) and Martel (49-2-51) are tied for second in the conference in goals while Johnson (10-40-50) tops the league in assists. Junior Gianna Scialdone (74) and Campbell (72) are among the NEWMAC leaders in draw controls.
• Moody (.443 sv. pct., 10.56 GAA) has started 14 of the team's 18 games in goal, while junior Emily McDermott (.405 sv. pct., 8.96 GAA) is a capable backup.
TITLE GAME TRENDS
• The road team has won six of the last seven NEWMAC Tournament championship games between Babson and Springfield. The Beavers, who won at Stagg Field in 2011, 2017 and 2021, recorded the lone home-field victory in 2018. The Pride claimed championships in Babson Park in 2012, 2016 and 2019.
• The 2018 and 2019 championship games were both tied with under five minutes to go.
• The winning team has led at halftime in seven of the last eight title-game matchups between the Beavers and Pride. The lone exception came in 2018 when Babson erased a 7-6 deficit at the break to win 15-13.
• Last year's 22-4 Babson victory marked the largest margin of victory by either team in 15 postseason meetings.
MATCHING UP AGAINST THE NEWMAC
• Babson (14.89) and Springfield (14.39) and are 2-3 in the conference in goals per game, while the Pride (9.26) and Beavers (9.80) are first and fourth in goals against average.
• The Green and White (52.2) and Maroon and White (48.8) and are also 2-3 in the NEWMAC in shooting percentage.
WEEKLY HONORS
• Jayne was named NEWMAC Offensive Athlete of the Week on Monday, her second conference weekly honor this season.
• Dodge earned the NEWMAC Defensive Athlete of the Week award three times this spring.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
• Jayne's 85 points rank fifth in Babson single-season history and her 34 assists are tied for third with Jackie Godfrey '09 (2009).
• Dodge's 37 CTs are the most at Babson since Delaney Carroll recorded 40 in 2017 and tied for fifth on the program's single-season list.
BEAVER STREAKS
• Jayne has recorded at least one point in all 28 of her games dating back to the start of her career in February of 2020.
• Jayne and Dodge have scored at least one goal in 13 straight games this spring, while Kaskey has scored at least once in 11 in a row.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Green and White are 50-6 in games against the NEWMAC going back to 2016, going 25-3 at home and 25-3 on the road.
• Babson has won 25 in a row, including nine this year, when holding the opponent to 10 goals or fewer, and are 35-1 since the start of 2018.
• The Beavers have won their last 37 games when leading at halftime, including 12 this year, and are 40-1 when ahead at the break dating back to 2018.
UP NEXT
• The winner will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will learn their first-round opponent when the championship field is announced on Sunday night.
