BABSON PARK, Mass.—The Babson College women's soccer team suffered a 1-0 loss to RIT in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at Hartwell-Rogers Field.
Babson, which was making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015, sees its season come to a close at 12-7-3 overall. RIT improved to 9-5-5 overall while advancing to the second round for the second consecutive season.
The Tigers scored the only goal of the match 56th minute following a free kick from a dangerous position just outside the box. Babson junior goalkeeper
Nora Ryan (Abington, Mass.) got a hand on the 22-yard rocket by senior Jessie Gomez (Silver Spring, Md.), pushing it off the crossbar, but senior Abby Umbenhaur (Somerville, N.J.) got a touch on the rebound and junior Rachel Marriott (Oakville, Onatario) came flying through the box to blast home the loose ball for her third goal of the year.
RIT goals came less than five minutes after Beavers' senior
Olivia Maltbie (Niskayuna, N.Y.) saw her driving header ring off the left post following a corner kick by junior
Jordyn Ferrantino (Millis, Mass.). Ferrantino also forced a save from Tigers' sophomore goalkeeper Emily Sanchez (San Clemente, Calif.) from outside the box following another corner kick in the 71st minute.
Both defenses dominated over an opening half that featured just three shots on target. Maltbie helped keep the game scoreless in the 25th minute when she cleared a ball away from goal inside the six-yard box off a sliding shot by Gomez following a giveaway by Babson deep in its defensive third.
Ryan also was in perfect position to handle a header by junior Amber Flynn (Wilmington, Mass.) after a corner kick in the 30th minute.
Ryan finished the afternoon with three saves for the Green and White, while Sanchez made two saves for RIT.
The Tigers held a slim edge in both shots (13-11) and corner kicks (5-3) in the match.
GAME NOTES
• Saturday's match was the first all-time between Babson and RIT.
• The Beavers are now 0-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament games with both matches finishing with a 1-0 score line.
• The loss snapped Babson's four-game winning streak at home.
• Prior to Saturday, the Beavers had won nine of their previous 11 games decided by one goal on the year.
