Men's Lacrosse vs. MIT
Saturday, April 29 | 1 p.m.
MacDowell Field | Babson Park, Mass.
SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 30-16 all-time against MIT in a series that dates back to 1977.
• The Beavers have won nine of the last 12 games between the teams but dropped both meetings to the Engineers in Cambridge last season.
• Six of the last seven games between the teams have been decided by three goals or fewer, which includes one-goal decisions in in the 2016 NEWMAC semifinals and 2018 and 2019 regular season matchups.
• Saturday's contest is also the first between the teams in Babson Park since 2018.
LAST MEETING
• Ryan Gebhardt scored four times, Heath Nilsen added three goals the duo scored eight seconds apart to break a 9-9 deadlock midway through the fourth quarter as MIT defeated Babson, 12-10, in a NEWMAC Tournament semifinal on May 4, 2022, in Cambridge.
• Matthew Sardis won 14-of-26 face-offs while picking up 10 ground balls and Dylan Nelson added a pair of goals for the Engineers, who outscored the Green and White 4-2 in the fourth quarter.
• Seniors Chi Chi Price and Matt Stucchi and sophomore Colt Bordonaro all scored twice for the Beavers, who got 21 saves from Mac Mowat '22.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson (9-4, 5-0 NEWMAC) clinched at least a share of its second regular season league title in three years with a 25-8 rout of Wheaton last Saturday.
• Graduate student Ryan Kenney had six goals, Price tallied five times and junior Grey Sunderland won 19-of-24 face-offs and picked up a career-high 16 ground balls for the Beavers, who outscored the Lyons 10-2 in the second quarter.
• Graduate student Will Spangenberg (39-29-68) ranks second in the conference in both points and assists, Price (47-6-53) has scored three or more goals in five straight games and Kenney (38-13-51) is third in the NEWMAC in goals.
• Sunderland has won 56.3 percent of his face-offs, junior Dillon Quinn leads the defense with 23 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers and senior Will Parducci ranks first in the league in goals against average (11.04) and fourth in both save percentage (.548) and saves per game (12.69).
SCOUTING THE ENGINEERS
• MIT (11-4, 4-1 NEWMAC) has won three of its last four games and is coming off a 20-9 victory over Emerson last Saturday.
• Nilsen put up four goals and five assists for nine points, Gebhart added two goals and three assists and Nico Bowden led all players with four caused turnovers for the Engineers, who scored six consecutive goals over the final 6:37 of the second quarter to pull away.
• Gebhardt (70-32-102) ranks second in Division III in both goals and points per game, Nilsen (24-20-44) is third in the NEWMAC averaging 4.89 points per game and Bryce Metalios (31-10-41) has produced nine multi-goal games.
• Sardis ranks 10th in Division III winning .688 percent of his face-offs, Chris Perrino leads the defense with 47 ground balls and 27 caused turnovers and Devin McCabe ranks second in the league with a 12.36 goals against average to go along with a .432 save percentage in 15 starts.
TOURNAMENT'S TOP SEED ON THE LINE
• The winner of Saturday's contest will earn the top seed in next week's conference tournament and home-field advantage for not only next Thursday's semifinals but the NEWMAC Tournament final should they advance next Saturday.
• In addition to the top seed, the Beavers are seeking their first outright regular season NEWMAC title since 2015 when they finished 7-0.
ASSAULT ON THE RECORD BOOKS
• Spangenberg's 68 points are tied for third on Babson's single-season list and he is just five away from matching PJ Yeatman's '92 total of 73 back in 1991.
• Price's 47 goals are second only to Josh Shaffer '95, who scored 71 times back in 1995.
• Sunderland's 106 ground balls rank fourth in single-season program history and he needs just three to achieve a new career high.
PRICE, SUNDERLAND SWEEP NEWMAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
• Price scored his 100th career goal 31 seconds into the first quarter and tallied four more times on the way to being selected as the NEWMAC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.
• Sunderland won 12-of-13 face-offs in the second quarter alone and led all players with 16 ground balls on the way to being selected as the conference's defensive player of the week for the second time this season.
REGION I RANKINGS
• Babson is sixth in the latest NCAA Region I rankings, which were released on Wednesday.
• In addition to the win over Trinity, the Beavers have lost to No. 2 Middlebury, No. 3 Williams and No. 5 Bowdoin by a combined five goals.
BALL SECURITY
• The Beavers rank fifth in Division III converting .901 percent of its clearing opportunities and are committing just 14.92 turnovers per game, which ranks sixth nationally entering Saturday's regular season finale.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
• Spangenberg, Price and Kenney give the Beavers three players with 50 or more points in the same season for the first time in program history.
• Babson is 9-0 this season and has won its 23 games since the start of 2020 when taking a lead into the fourth quarter.
• The Beavers are 9-2 this spring when scoring at least 12 goals.
• The Green and White has outscored its first five conference opponents 57-17 in the first half this season.
UP NEXT
• The Beavers will host a NEWMAC Tournament semifinal next Thursday.
