MIDDLETOWN, R.I. — First-year Penny Baroni (Dennis, Mass.) and sophomore Helen DiGiovanni (Harwich, Mass.) scored goals six minutes apart in the third quarter as No. 7 Babson College got past Salve Regina University, 2-1, in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) field hockey contest Saturday afternoon at Gaudet Field.

With the win, the Beavers captured their fifth win in a row and improved to 10-3 overall and 5-0 in the NEWMAC while Salve Regina suffered just its second loss of the season, falling to 10-2 overall and 3-2 in conference play.

Senior Berit Sharrow (Denver, Colo.) and sophomore Ashley Braren (Westwood, Mass.) registered assists for the Beavers, and senior Bayla Furmanek (State College, Pa.) made five saves in goal in the win.

Junior Julia Decker (Newton, N.J.), the NEWMAC's leading scorer, notched a fourth-quarter goals for the Seahawks. Senior goalie Bryn Protheroe (Glastonbury, Conn.) finished with 10 saves in goal in the loss, her second-highest save total in a game this season.

Neither team was able to score in a defensive-minded first half, with Babson earning a slim 8-7 margin in shots. The Beavers nearly got on the board early in the second quarter but a shot by graduate student Katie Guden (Belmont, Mass.) on a pass from senior Jessica Evans (Southbury, Conn.) glanced off the left post. Protheroe also denied shot by junior Caroline DiGiovanni (Harwich, Mass.) in the 24th minute and Sharrow in the 28th minute.

After a couple of scoring opportunities by both teams early in the third quarter, Baroni broke the deadlock off a Babson penalty corner in the 39th minute. Senior Ellie Powers (Bethlehem, Pa.) received the insertion at the top of the circle and passed to Sharrow on the left side. Sharrow then found Baroni open in the slot, and Baroni ripped a shot past Protheroe into the back of the cage for a 1-0 lead.

The Beavers doubled their lead in the final minute of the third quarter. Braren got past a defender just inside the box on the right side and evaded a charging Protheroe to slide a pass to Ellen DiGiovanni, who pounded a shot into the empty goal for a 2-0 lead.

Salve cut the deficit in half in the 51st minute following a costly Babson turnover near midfield. Decker collected a loose ball and went in on a breakaway, knocking it past Furmanek into the left corner of the goal and making it a 2-1 game.

Each team put a shot on goal in the final minutes of the quarter, but the goalies held their ground and Babson held on for the one-goal victory.

The Beavers finished with an 18-12 advantage in total shots, and a 12-6 margin in shots on goal. The hosts took four of the six penalty corners in the game.

Babson will play five of its final six regular season games on home turf at MacDowell Field, beginning Monday vs. Saint Joseph's of Maine at 12 p.m. Salve plays a non-conference game Wednesday at Roger Williams at 7 p.m.

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers have won all eight carer meetings between the two schools in a series that dates back to 1998.
• Babson extended its NEWMAC regular season victory streak to 64 games dating back to October 20, 2015.
• The Babson defense stymied the Seahawk offense, which entered the game averaging a NEWMAC-leading 4.2 goals per game.
• Evans had her goal-scoring streak snapped at six games.