BABSON PARK, Mass.—Senior Liam Rhatigan (Holderness, N.H.) scored the only goal of the match in the ninth minute to help Babson College defeat visiting Springfield College, 1-0, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's soccer action on Wednesday afternoon at Hartwell-Rogers Field. 

With its second consecutive victory, Babson extends its conference unbeaten streak to 27 matches and improves to 9-1-6 overall and 4-0-1 on the year in league play. Springfield is now 5-7-2 overall and 3-2-1 in the NEWMAC. 

Senior goalkeeper Walker White (Coral Gables, Fla.) made one save to record his seventh shutout of the season for the Beavers, who finished with a 15-3 edge in shots. 

Junior goalkeeper Noah Pote (Washington, Conn.) finished with five saves in the loss for the Pride. 

Rhatigan's goal came following an early flurry that saw junior Liam Goldstein (Princeton Junction, N.J.) and graduate student Tyler Fidrych (Stonington, Conn.) send dangerous headers just wide over the first six minutes of action. After a buildup that saw the Green and White complete 10 consecutive passes, graduate student Kento Abe (Quincy, Mass.) headed down a long ball into the box by classmate Marco Cerezo (Malaga, Spain) for Rhatigan, who split a pair of defenders before beating Pote with a shot from a tight angle just outside the left post for his fifth tally of the year. 

Rhatigan nearly doubled the lead only to see his shot in the 12th minute go off the left post, while Pote made four first-half saves to keep the Pride within striking distance. The Beavers dominated the ball for the majority of the second half with their best chance to add to the lead coming in the 71st minute when junior Joao Araujo's (Boca Raton, Fla.) shot from distance sailed just over the crossbar. 

Springfield's best scoring chance of the match came in the 37tth minute when Cole Sampson's (Hingham, Mass.) driving header off of senior Mathew Mela's (Natick, Mass.) free kick from 35 yards bounced just wide of the left post. 

In addition to its advantage in shots, Babson also attempted seven of the nine corner kicks in the game. 

Both teams are back in action on Saturday at 4 p.m. as the Beavers travel to MIT, while Springfield hosts Wheaton. 

GAME NOTES
•    Babson is now 25-7-5 all-time against Springfield and is unbeaten in five straight matches (5-0-1) in the series. 
•    The Beavers are 22-0-5 over their last 27 NEWMAC fixtures, a streak that dates back to October 30, 2021. 
•     The Green and White is unbeaten in 14 straight games at home and has not conceded a goal on Hartwell-Rogers Field in five consecutive matches going back to October 5. 
•    Babson is 16-1-6 in the month of October since 2022.