NCAA Tournament Semifinal
No. 2 Babson vs. No. 1 Middlebury
Friday, November 17 | 3 p.m.
Jennings Family Stadium | Newport News, Va.

WHAT TO KNOW
• The Babson field hockey program will make its second appearance in the NCAA Division III Final Four and first since 2016 this weekend in Newport News, Va.
• The No. 2 Beavers will take on top-ranked and five-time defending champion Middlebury in a semifinal contest on Friday at 3 p.m. The semifinals winners will play for the Division III championship on Sunday at 1 p.m.

SCHEDULE
Semifinals | Friday, November 17
No. 15 Kean (14-5) vs. No. 4 Johns Hopkins (20-1), 12 p.m. 
No. 2 Babson (22-1) vs. No. 1 Middlebury (20-0), 3 p.m.
Final | Sunday, November 19
Semifinals winners, 1:00 p.m. 

SERIES HISTORY
• The Beavers are 1-11 all-time against Middlebury in a series that dates back to 1996, with six of the losses coming by just one goal.
• Babson has dropped the last six encounters, including a 2-1 decision in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament. The Beavers' only win, 2-1, came on September 24, 2017 at MacDowell Field.

LAST MEETING
• Top-ranked Middlebury overcame a 1-0 deficit with three unanswered goals and held off a rally by then-No. 3 Babson for a 3-2 victory back on September 17, 2023, at Peter Kohn Field in Middlebury, Vt.
• Graduate student Jackie Hill and senior Andrea Marguerite scored goals for the Beavers and grad student Sinead Walsh and junior Berit Sharrow registered assists. Junior Bayla Furmanek made a career-high 13 saves in goal in the setback.
• Seniors Katie George, Audrey Lazar and Sadie LeStage tallied goals for the Panthers, and junior Lilly Branka recorded an assist. Senior KK Newton made one save and earned the win in goal.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 8th
Best NCAA Finish: Semifinals (2016)
• No. 2 Babson (22-1) advanced to the tournament semifinals with a pair of 1-0 second and third round victories last weekend in Babson Park, edging No. 7 Bates in overtime on Saturday and nipping No. 10 Tufts in regulation play in Sunday at MacDowell Field.
• Hill redirected a pass from Sharrow just inside the left post seven minutes into overtime for the game-winner against Bates and Furmanek made one save as the defense limited the Bobcats to just four shot attempts and one shot on goal. Junior Jessica Evans scored the only goal against Tufts early in the second quarter on a pass from Walsh and the defense was strong again, holding the Jumbos to two shots attempts and one shot on goal. Furmanek posted the shutouts with one save in each win.
• Walsh (18-8-44), McGrath (16-7-39) and junior Camille Marsh (16-5-37) and give Babson three players with at least 30 points for just the third time in program history (2010, 2006). Hill (13-0-26) and sophomore Caroline DiGiovanni (10-0-20) give the Beavers five double-digit goal scorers and junior Jessica Evans (9-10-28) and grad student Meara Hanyon (4-10-18) are tied for the NEWMAC lead in assists.
• Furmanek (22-1, 0.61 GAA, .797 sv. pct) has started every game over the past two seasons and ranks eighth in Division III in goals against average and is tied for the national lead with 13 shutouts.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 23rd
Best NCAA Finish: Champions (1998, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022)
• No. 1 Middlebury (20-0) moved on to the national semifinals with a pair shutout victories last weekend in Grantham, Pa., knocking off William Smith, 7-0, in the second round and blanking No. 5 Messiah, 3-0, in the quarterfinals.
• Junior Amy Griffin and George tallied two goals and an assist in the win over William Smith and Lazar, junior Hanna Medwar and sophomore Grace Keefe tacked on one goal apiece for the Panthers, who had an 18-0 advantage in shots on goal. George scored the game-winner against Messiah in the seventh minute, Lazar added a pair of insurance goals in the final two minutes of the game and Middlebury finished with an 8-0 margin in shots on goal.
• Griffin (22-10-54) and George (23-3) are among the Division III leaders in scoring and have combined for eight game-winning goals. Caroline Segal (12-10-34) and Lazar (13-5-31) give the Panthers four double-digit goal scorers and Lilly Branka (7-8-22) and Medwar (6-4-16) are serious offensive threats as well.
• Newton (20-0, 0.48 GAA, .757 sv. pct) has started every game for the Panthers, allowing just nine goals in more than 1,100 minutes, and ranks fourth in Division III in goals against average.

NCAA POSTSEASON HISTORY
• The Beavers made their only Final Four appearance in 2016 with victories over St. John Fisher (3-0) and Franklin & Marshall (1-0) before a 5-2 loss to Messiah in the semifinals.
• Babson has made five of its seven NCAA Tournament appearances since 2016, and advanced to the quarterfinals four times (2016, 2021, 2022 and 2023).
• The last six and 12 of the Beavers' 16 NCAA Tournament contests have taken place in Babson Park.

TOURNAMENT TESTED
• McGrath has tallied two goals and one assist in eight NCAA Tournament games in her career dating back to 2019, while DiGiovanni scored two goals in two NCAA tourney games last year and junior Berit Sharrow has a goal and two assists in six outings over the past three years. The goals by Hill and Evans last weekend were their first in NCAA Tournament play.
• Hanyon has made six NCAA Tournament appearances going back to 2019, while Evans, Marsh, and Powers also have six appearances since 2021, Marguerite has played in five games, sophomore Sanne van der Goes in four, and sophomore Laney Reed in three.
• Furmanek is 3-1 in NCAA Tournament play with six saves and two goals allowed.

NATIONALLY-RANKED OPPONENTS
• Babson is 7-1 against nationally ranked opponents this season
• The Beavers defeated then-No. 5 Williams on September 5, then-No. 15 Bates on September 13, then-No. 5 Tufts on September 26, then-No. 19 MIT on October 21, then-No. 20 MIT on November 4, No. 7 Bates on November 11 and No. 10 Tufts on November 12 with the only loss coming to No. 1 Middlebury on September 17.

HEAD COACH JULIE RYAN
• Babson is led by 17th-year head coach Julie Ryan, who has achieved a 249-93 record (.728), including a 109-20 mark against NEWMAC opponents.
• A nine-time Coach of the Year, she has led the program to five conference tournament championships and seven NCAA Tournament berths.

FIVE BEAVERS EARN ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
• McGrath and Sharrow were selected as the NEWMAC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year and Julie Ryan and her two assistants were honored as the Coaching Staff of the Year when the NEWMAC announced its postseason awards.
• McGrath and Sharrow were joined on the All-NEWMAC First Team by Walsh and Marsh while Furmanek earned a Second Team honor.

BALANCED OFFENSE
• The Babson offense ranks third in Division III with 4.84 goals per game and a +4.24 scoring margin.
• Five players have scored goals in double digits, eight have notched at least seven goals and 16 have scored at least one goal.
• The Green and White have tallied a program record 112 goals, outscoring the 100 goals produced by the 2021 team.

STIFLING DEFENSE
• The Babson defense, anchored by Sharrow, Hanyon, graduate student Daniela Parrado-Nazal, van der Goes, and Powers, has allowed just 14 goals in 23 games this season.
• The Beavers have surrendered just six goals in their current 16-game winning streak.
• Since the start of the 2018 campaign, the Green and White are 86-2 when holding the opponents to no more than one goal.

BUSY BEAVERS
• Walsh has registered points in nine of her last 11 games, accumulating 12 goals and three assists for 27 points in that stretch.
• McGrath has points in eight of her last 12 outings, tallying nine goals and five assists for 23 points since the beginning of October.
• Hill has scored at least one goal in five of her last seven games, totaling 10 goals in that span.

ASSAULT ON THE RECORD BOOKS
• McGrath continues her climb on the program's all-time scoring list and now ranks tied for fifth with 127 points, eighth with 50 goals and tied for ninth with 27 assists.
• Furmanek has set the program single-records with her 22nd victory and 13th shutout, breaking the marks of 21 victories by Cassidy Riley '22 in 2021 and 12 shutouts by Deirdre Barry '20 in 2016.
• Furmanek also moved up to fourth on the career wins list with 41 and second with 21 shutouts, one shy of Riley's mark of 22.

WEEKLY HONORS
• Two Babson players were named the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division III Offensive Player of the Week this season, Marsh on September 27 and Hill on November 1.
• Seven different players received NEWMAC Offensive or Defensive Athlete of the Week honors this season (Marsh (twice), Furmanek (twice), Marguerite, Walsh, Sharrow, McGrath, Hill).

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• Babson has won 54 games in a row when leading at halftime, dating back to 2021.
• The Beavers have lost just once in their last 58 outings when scoring the first goal of the game.
• The Green and White are 15-4 over the past three seasons in games decided by a single goal.