No. 15 Men's Soccer vs. Wheaton
NEWMAC Tournament Semifinal
Thursday, November 2 | 2:30 p.m.
MacDowell Field | Babson Park, Mass. 

SERIES HISTORY
•    Babson is 25-20-0 all-time against Wheaton in a series that dates back to 1990.
•    The Beavers have won nine in a row and 11 of the last 12 matches against the Lyons, which includes seven consecutive victories at home. 
•    Nine of the last 13 games between the sides have been decided by one goal. 
•    None of the eight overtime games between the teams have ever finished in a draw.

POSTSEASON HISTORY
•    The storied rivals are set to meet for the eighth time in the last 10 postseasons (excluding 2020) and 16th time overall in the conference playoffs on Thursday.
•    Babson is 9-6-0 against Wheaton in NEWMAC Tournament action, which includes a 1-0 victory in last year's semifinals and wins in five of its last six conference tournament matches versus the Lyons. 
•    The sides also have met once in the NCAA Tournament as Wheaton defeated the Green and White, 3-2, back in 2004. 
•    Since 1998, Babson and Wheaton have combined for 18 conference championships in 24 seasons.

LAST MEETING
•    Graduate student Ryan Grund headed home a cross from senior Ryan Kim in the 70th minute to help the Beavers defeat Wheaton, 1-0, on October 14 in Babson Park. 
•    Sophomore Robin Pestka also picked up an assist on the goal, while junior Walker White made seven saves for the Beavers. 
•    Michael O'Gara finished with six saves for the Lyons. 

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
•    Second-seeded and 15th-ranked Babson (10-3-6) is unbeaten in 10 consecutive matches and closed the regular season with a 1-1 draw at Coast Guard last Saturday. 
•    Senior Louis Gazo converted a long pass from sophomore Joao Araujo to pull even in the 81st minute and White made four saves for the Beavers, who fell behind in the ninth minute. 
•    Graduate student Justin Stone (4-1-9) has three game-winning goals, classmate Sam Morgan (3-3-9) leads the team in assists and the trio of senior Liam Rhatigan (4-0-8), Gazo (3-1-7) and first-year Alexander Yablonovskiy (3-1-7) have combined for eight second-half goals this fall. 
•    White has started all 19 matches and boasts a 0.53 goals against average and a .891 save percentage to go along with 11 shutouts, which are tied for first in Division III. 

SCOUTING THE LYONS
•    Third-seeded Wheaton (8-4-6) has won five consecutive games and defeated sixth-seeded Springfield, 4-0, in Tuesday's NEWMAC quarterfinals. 
•    Alasdair Ferrier finished with a goal and an assist and Leao Nelson, Alberto Franceschi and Joey Everett each scored once for the Lyons, who broke the game open with a pair of markers over the first since minutes of the second half. 
•    Franceschi (4-2-10) has a goal in two straight games, Everett (1-5-7) leads the team in assists and Robert Lloyd (3-0-6) is one of eight different players to score a game-winning goal this fall. 
•    O'Gara has been superb in 16 starts on the year and leads the conference in both goals against average (0.44) and save percentage (.903) to go along with nine clean sheets. 

TOUGH TO CRACK
•    The Beavers conceded just two goals in eight conference matches and are tied for fourth in Division III in shutouts (12) and save percentage (.896) and rank 12th nationally in team goals against average (.526). 
•    The Green and White has allowed 10 goals this season and has limited opponents to one goal or fewer in 16 of 19 matches. 
•    Not to be outdone, Wheaton has conceded just 11 goals and ranks eighth in Division III in shutouts (11), 10th in save percentage (.867) and 13th in goals against average. 

BEAVERS IN THE POSTSEASON
•    Babson, which has won 10 conference tournament championships since 2002, is 14-4-2 all-time in the NEWMAC semifinal round and has advanced to the championship game 15 times in 20 tries since 1999.
•    The Beavers defeated Emerson, 1-0, in the 2022 tournament final and have claimed five titles (2014, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2022) over the last eight seasons.
•    Babson (2008-10, 2019-22) and Wheaton (2005-07) have both won three consecutive titles but no school has ever captured four straight NEWMAC Tournament championships. 

LATE MAGIC
•    Babson has scored 20 of its 23 goals this season in the second half of games and has been especially dangerous late in matches. 
•    The Beavers have scored 11 times in the 70th minute or later with eighth of those goals coming beyond the 80th minute. 

TOURNAMENT TESTED
•    White was terrific in three postseason starts last season posting a 0.31 goals against average and stopping 14 of 15 shots for a .933 save percentage to go along with a pair of shutouts. 

WHEN 90 MINUTES ISN'T ENOUGH
•    No overtime was played during regular season contests for the second consecutive season but all postseason matches will feature two 10-minute periods of extra time if a game is deadlocked at the end of regulation. 
•    If the game remains tied after both overtime sessions, a winner will be decided by penalty kicks. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW
•    The Beavers are unbeaten in their last 20 games against NEWMAC opponents and has won six consecutive conference tournament matches since 2019.
•    Babson is 6-0-1 this season when scoring at least two goals.
•    The Beavers are unbeaten in their last 36 games (34-0-2) when scoring the opening goal of the match.
•    The Green and White is 6-1-3 this season and 14-1-3 over its last 18 home matches dating back to September 2022. 
•    Babson is 2-2-4 in games played on turf this fall.

TICKETS
•    All tickets must be purchased online through the NEWMAC Box Office for all rounds of this year's conference tournament. 
•    Students attending NEWMAC institutions with a valid ID and children under 12 are free and do not need a mobile ticket.

UP NEXT
•    The winner of Thursday's quarterfinal will take on either top-seeded WPI or fifth-seeded Coast Guard in the NEWMAC final on Saturday.