No. 7 Field Hockey at No. 5 Williams
Saturday, September 9 | 11 a.m.
Williamson Field | Williamstown, Mass.

SERIES HISTORY
• Saturday's game between Babson and Williams will be just the second career meeting between the two programs.
• The Ephs edged the Beavers 3-2 in the first encounter last season in Babson Park.

LAST MEETING
• Emily Batchelor '23 scored a pair of goals and No. 14 Williams held off a second-half comeback by No. 7 Babson, 3-2, on September 10, 2022, at MacDowell Field.
• Graduate student Brianne McGrath scored both goals for the Beavers and classmate Meara Hanyon picked up an assist. Junior goalkeeper Bayla Furmanek was strong in the Beaver goal with a career-high nine saves in the setback.
• Sophomore Natalia Nolan also scored for the Ephs, and classmate Kiki Higgins and Faith Stineman '23 registered assists. Carson Stephenson '23 earned the win in goal after making two saves in a scoreless first half.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• No. 7 Babson (3-0) is coming off its third consecutive victory to start the season, an 8-1 blowout of Roger Williams on Thursday evening at MacDowell Field.
• McGrath scored twice and grad student Sinead Walsh added a goal and an assist in the win. Seniors Meghan Diamond and Andrea Marguerite, junior Berit Sharrow, sophomore Laney Reed and first-year Ashley Braren each scored once for the Beavers and Hanyon led all players with two assists.
• Hanyon (2-3-7) leads the team in assists and points and McGrath (3-0-6) tops the squad in goals. Junior Camille Marsh (2-1-5), Walsh (2-1-5) and Sharrow (2-0-4) are also multi-goal scorers through three games.
• Furmanek (3-0, 0.67 GAA, .600 sv. pct) has needed to make just one save in each of her first three outings.

SCOUTING THE EPHS
• No. 5 Williams (1-0) rolled past Clark in its season debut on Tuesday, 8-0, at Williamson Field.
• Higgins scored a pair of first-quarter goals to spark the Ephs while senior Elizabeth Scarcella tallied a goal and an assist in the win. Nolan, junior Kaela Smith, sophomores Pilar Torres and Chloe Bush, and first-year Tess Everett all found the back of the net for the Purple and Gold.
• The Ephs outshot Clark 37-2 (22-0 shots on goal) and senior Gates Tenerowicz was not challenged on the way to posting her second career shutout.
• Williams finished 15-6 last season (6-4 in the New England Small College Athletic Conference) after winning three NCAA Tournament games to advance to the Division III national semifinals.

BABSON VS. THE NESCAC
• Saturday's matchup is the second of five Babson regular season games this season against schools from the NESCAC. The Green and White enter the game 1-0 against the conference after Tuesday's 3-1 win at Connecticut College.
• The Beavers will also face No. 22 Bates next Wednesday, No. 1 Middlebury on September 17 and No. 6 Tufts on September 26.
• The Green and White went 4-2 against the NESCAC each of the past two seasons and are 12-7 against the conference since 2019 with four of the losses off the sticks of top-ranked Middlebury.

RANKED OPPONENTS AWAIT
• Saturday's encounter is also the first of four meetings against nationally-ranked opponents this month, including three of the top six teams in the NFHCA preseason Division III poll.
• The Green and White will host No. 22 Bates next Wednesday, travel to top-ranked Middlebury on September 17, and host No. 6 Tufts on September 26. The Beavers are also on tap to face 12th-ranked MIT on October 21 at MacDowell Field.

STARTING STRONG
• Since 2019, the Beavers are 21-7 in the month of September with three of their losses coming against top-ranked Middlebury.
• The Green and White have won their first three games in six of the last eight seasons dating back to 2015.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
• Five members of the Babson program were named to the 2023 National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division III Watchlist sponsored by Victory Sport Tours last week. 
• McGrath, Walsh, Sharrow, Furmanek and senior Andrea Marguerite were among 136 student-athletes from 55 institutions named to the list. 
• Per the NFHCA, the list is intended to showcase field hockey student-athletes with the strongest potential for consideration to the current year's All-America teams.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Green and White have won 38 straight games since the start of the 2021 campaign when scoring the first goal of the game.
• Babson has won its last 36 games over the past two campaigns when leading at halftime.
• The Green and White have won 106 straight games since 2014 when scoring at least three times.
• The Beavers have won 69 of 71 contests since 2018 when holding opponents to less than two goals.

UP NEXT
• The Beavers return home for their next two games, beginning Wednesday against No. 22 Bates at MacDowell Field at 6 p.m.