HAMDEN, Conn.—Sophomore Jessica Evans (Southbury, Conn.) broke a scoreless deadlock 3:06 into the fourth quarter to lift No. 7 Babson College to a 1-0 win over ninth-ranked Kean University in non-conference field hockey action at the Quinnipiac Field Hockey Stadium on Thursday afternoon.

With the victory, Babson opens the season at 1-0, while Kean begins the year at 0-1.

Sophomore goalkeeper Bayla Furmanek (State College, Pa.) made one save in her first career start for the Beavers. Her counterpart, senior Jenna Flemings (Tabernacle, N.J.) of Kean, made seven of her 11 saves in the second half.

Scoreless through three quarters, Evans notched the only goal of the match early in the fourth. She broke into the circle and worked along the end line on the right wing before tucking a shot past Flemings for her 10th career tally.

Babson successfully defend a Cougars' corner without allowing a shot with 23 seconds left to secure the win.

The Beavers finished the afternoon with a 15-8 edge in shots, which included a 10-0 bulge over the final 20 minutes of the contest. Flemings made back-to-back stops on seniors Isabelle Fournier (West Kingston, R.I.) and Brianne McGrath (Newmarket, Ontario) with just over four minutes to go in the third period and then stuffed Evans' attempt from the right side of the circle with just over a minute to go in the stanza.

The Green and White also held a slim 8-7 edge in penalty corners.

Babson returns to action next Tuesday when it hosts Connecticut College at 6 p.m., while Kean takes on Immaculata on Saturday at 1 p.m.

GAME NOTES
• Thursday's matchup was the first all-time between the Beavers and Kean.
• Babson is now 3-2 going back to the start of last season against teams ranked in the top 10 of the NFHCA poll.
• The Beavers have opened the season with a win 13 times in the last 14 tries going back to 2008.
• Babson has won five consecutive games decided by a single goal dating back to the start of the 2021 campaign.