No. 3 Field Hockey at No. 1 Middlebury
Sunday, September 16 | 1 p.m.
Peter Kohn Field | Middlebury, Vt.

WHAT TO KNOW
• Babson takes on a nationally ranked program for the third time in eight days when it travels to No. 1 Middlebury for a non-conference game on Sunday.

SERIES HISTORY
• The Beavers are 1-10 all-time against the Panthers in a series that dates back to 1996, with five of the losses coming by just one goal.
• Babson has dropped the last five 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
• The defense for No. 7 Babson limited Middlebury's potent offense to nine shots below its season average but the top-ranked Panthers proved too strong and posted a 4-0 victory over the Beavers on September 18, 2022 at MacDowell Field.
• The Beavers held the visitors to 19 shots but managed just two of their own. Junior goalkeeper Bayla Furmanek held down the fort and recorded five saves in the setback.
• Junior Lilly Branka scored a career-high three goals for the Panthers and Grace Murphy '23 added a goal and an assist. Goalkeeper Grace Harlan '23 made two saves for her second shutout of the season.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• No. 3 Babson (6-0, 1-0 NEWMAC) opened conference play on Friday night with a 7-0 whitewash of Clark under the lights at MacDowell Field.
• Graduate student Brianne McGrath finished with two goals and one assist to reach 100 career points in the win. Grad student Sinead Walsh recorded a goal and two assists, senior Andrea Marguerite had a goal and assist, and junior Ellie Powers, sophomore Caroline DiGiovanni and first-year Helen DiGiovanni each added a marker for the Beavers.
• McGrath (5-2-12) has a pair of game-winning goals and Walsh (4-4-12) leads the team in assists. share the team scoring lead with senior Andrea Marguerite (4-1-9) right behind. Graduate student Meara Hanyon (2-3-7) is second on the squad in assists and Caroline DiGiovanni (3-0-6) is a top scoring threat as well.
• Furmanek (6-0, 0.83 GAA, .762 sv. pct) has started 29 straight games in goal for the Beavers dating back to last season and owns 10 career shutouts.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
• No. 1 Middlebury (4-0, 2-0 NESCAC) continued its impressive start to the season on Saturday with a 6-0 shutout of No. 17 Hamilton in Clinton, N.Y. The Panthers have outscored their first four opponents, 27-0.
• Junior Amy Griffin scored two goals and seniors Charlotte Marks and Katie George, junior Caroline Segal and sophomore Madaket Rzepka chipped in with one goal each in the win. Senior Sadie LeStage added a pair of assists as the Panthers outshot the Continentals 23-2.
• George (6-0-12) leads the team in goals and points while Griffin (3-4-10) tops the squad in assists. Segal (4-2-10), senior Audrey Lazar (3-2-8) and sophomore Sara Bona (3-0-6) are also solid contributors. Senior KK Newton has needed to make just two saves in her four victories in goal.
• Middlebury has captured the last five Division III national championships and has a 109-5 record since 2017.

HITTING THE CENTURY MARK
• McGrath (39-22-100) became the 12th player in program history to reach the 100-point milestone and the first since former teammate Lauren Curley (45-13-103) in 2021.
• The four-year veteran ranks 11th all-time in goals and tied for 13th in assists in school history.

ONE IS FUN, TWICE IS NICE
• The Beavers have had four different players score two goals in a game in the first six outings this season.
• McGrath scored twice vs. Roger Williams on September 7 and Clark on September 15, Marsh doubled up at Connecticut College on September 5, Marguerite accomplished the feat at Williams on September 9, and DiGiovanni turned the trick on Wednesday against Bates.

NATIONALLY RANKED OPPONENTS
• The Green and White is 2-0 this season against teams ranked in the NFHCA Division III poll with a pair of one-goal victories over No. 5 Williams (2-1) last Sunday and No. 15 Bates (3-2) on Wednesday.
• Babson will also host No. 6 Tufts on September 26 and 12th-ranked MIT on October 21 at MacDowell Field.

BABSON VS. THE NESCAC
• Babson is 3-0 in the first three of five regular season games this season against schools from the NESCAC.
• The Green and White went 4-2 against the NESCAC each of the past two seasons and are 13-7 against the conference since 2019 with four of the losses to Middlebury.

STARTING STRONG
• The Green and White are off to their best start since winning their first nine games in 2017.
• The Beavers have posted the fourth best start in program history (6-0). The top three starts are 13-0 in 2015, 9-0 in 2017, and 7-0 in 2003.
• Babson is 24-7 in the month of September since the start of 2019, with three losses against Middlebury.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Green and White have won 41 straight games since the start of the 2021 campaign when scoring the first goal of the game.
• Babson has won its last 39 games over the past two campaigns when leading at halftime.
• The Green and White have won 108 straight games since 2014 when scoring at least three times.
• The Beavers have won 71 of 73 contests since 2018 when holding opponents to less than two goals.

UP NEXT
• The Beavers return home for the first of three straight home games with a Wednesday encounter against Skidmore at MacDowell Field.