NEWPORT NEWS, Va.— Junior Caroline Segal (Glencoe, Ill.) tallied a goal and an assist and No. 1 Middlebury College limited No. 2 Babson College to just three shots on goal as the Panthers defeated the Beavers, 3-0, in the NCAA Field Hockey Tournament semifinals Friday afternoon at Jennings Family Stadium.

With the loss, the Beavers had their 16-game winning streak snapped and wind up the season with a record of 22-2, while Middlebury, the five-time defending champions, improve to 21-0 on the season. The Panthers will take on No. 4 Johns Hopkins in the championship game on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Junior goalie Bayla Furmanek (State College, Pa.) finished with five saves for the Beavers, who limited the Panthers to just 14 shots, slightly less than half of their season average of 28.3 shots per game.

Juniors Amy Griffin (Wilmette, Ill.) and Lilly Branka (Medfield, Mass.) also scored goals for the Panthers and senior Sadie LeStage (Milton, Mass.) picked un assist. Senior KK Newton (Madison, Conn.) made three saves to earn the win in goal.

Junior Camille Marsh (Edgewood, Colo.) got a pair of shots off for Babson in the first four minutes of the game, one that was blocked and one that was saved by Newton. The Beavers were awarded a penalty corner midway through the frame but a shot by graduate student Brianne McGrath (Newmarket, Ontario) was also blocked.

The Beaver defense, meanwhile, did not concede a shot to the Panthers in the opening frame. The Blue and White came alive in the second quarter, but Furmanek denied an early shot by junior Katherine Lantzy (Durham, N.H.). Middlebury finally broke through in the 19th minute on a penalty corner. LeStage received the insertion and sent a pass to Griffin, who fired a long-range shot through traffic for the first goal of the game and her 23rd of the season.

Babson came right back and produced some strong threats on the Panther goal, including three consecutive penalty corners and shots on goal by junior Berit Sharrow (Denver, Colo.) and graduate student Sinead Walsh (Port Elizabeth, South Africa), but Newton kept the Beavers off the board. Babson also blocked all four Middlebury shots the rest of the quarter to keep it a 1-0 lead at the intermission.

Middlebury doubled its lead midway through the third quarter on a penalty corner. Griffin put a shot on goal that was saved by Furmanek but Segal knocked in the rebound for her 13th of the season. Babson had a corner a minute later but could not convert and neither team managed a shot the rest of the quarter.

Furmanek came up with a pair of saves in the fourth quarter to keep the Beavers within striking distance but Middlebury put the game away with a last goal by Branka that went through traffic and through the legs of a screened Furmanek to finish off the win.

Middlebury's stifling defense, led by Griffin, Lantzy, senior Charlotte Marks (Manchester, Mass.) and junior Kelly Cooper (Norristown, Pa.), prevented Babson from getting off any shots in the second half.

GAME NOTES
• Babson is 1-12 all-time against Middlebury in a series that dates back to 1996, with six of the losses coming by just one goal.
• The Green and White finished 6-2 this season to teams from the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) with both losses to Middlebury.