BABSON PARK, Mass.— Graduate student
Morgan Krauss (Belmont, Mass.) tallied a goal and an assist and two goalies combined for four saves as Babson College rolled to a 4-0 victory over Clark University Saturday afternoon in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's soccer regular season finale on Senior Day at Hartwell-Rogers Field.
With the victory, Babson completes the regular season with a five-game unbeaten streak (4-0-1) to go into the post season at 10-5-3 overall and 8-1-2 in the NEWMAC. The Beavers locked up the second seed in next week's conference tournament. Clark has dropped three in a row and fell to 8-6-4 overall and 3-6-2 in conference play, claiming the eighth and final seed in the tournament.
Senior
Natalie Knauff (Point Pleasant, N.J.) and juniors
Emma Mumby (Westborough, Mass.) and
Jordyn Ferrantino (Millis, Mass.) scored for the Beavers, and sophomore
Meredith Greeley (Ottawa Hills, Ohio) and senior
Cassie Lawson (Davie, Fla.) produced assists in the victory. Junior
Nora Ryan (Abington, Mass.) stopped all three shots she faced in the first 75 minutes in goal and senior
Nicole DiMarino (Mahwah, N.J.) made one save in 15 minutes of action in her first appearance of the season.
Junior Anabella White (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) recorded five saves in the Cougar goal in the loss.
Knauff needed less than four minutes after the opening whistle to put the Beavers on the scoreboard. She stole the ball from a Clark defender and chipped the ball over the goalie's head from 30 yards out that went into the back of the net for her third goal of the season.
The Beavers doubled their lead in the 35th minute when Greeley sent a through ball over the Clark defense and Mumby ran it down and looped a shot over the keeper for her second goal of the season. The Green and White dominated field play in the first 45 minutes and finished with a 12-1 advantage in shots.
Ferrantino finished off her team-leading 10th goal of the season five minutes into the second half, converting a cross by Krauss from the right side. Krauss scored a goal of her own three minutes later when Lawson sent a lead pass from the midfield stripe into space on the right side, and Krauss retrieved it, went in alone on the keeper and buried a shot from point blank range for her fifth goal of the season.
Babson continued to control play much of the second half although shots were tied at five apiece. The Green and White finished with a 17-6 lead in shots, including 9-4 in shots on goal, and took six corner kicks compared to two for the Cougars.
The second-seeded Beavers will host seventh-seeded WPI in a NEWMAC Tournament quarterfinal on Tuesday at Hartell-Rogers Field, while eighth-seeded Clark will travel to top-seeded MIT.
GAME NOTES
• Babson has won three in a row over Clark and is 20-11-5 all-time against the Cougars in a series that dates back to 1994.
• Ferrantino's 10 goals this fall are the most in a season for a Babson player since Amy Festa '13 scored 11 goals in 2012.
• The eight conference wins for the Green and White are the most in program history, achieving the feat for the second year in a row. The Beavers were 7-2-1 in the NEWMAC last year, producing the most conference wins in program history.