BABSON PARK, Mass.—Senior Liam Rhatigan (Holderness, N.H.) scored in the 52nd minute as No. 11 Babson College defeated visiting Wesleyan University, 1-0, in the second round of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Tournament on Sunday afternoon at Hartwell-Rogers Field. 

With its ninth consecutive win, Babson improves to 16-1-6 on the year. The Beavers also punched their ticket to the sectional semifinals for the first time since 2011. Wesleyan sees its year come to a close at 8-5-5. 

Senior goalkeeper Walker White (Coral Gables, Fla.) finished with three saves for the Beavers. His counterpart, Cardinals' junior Mathis Blanc (Palo Alto, Cali.) stopped five shots in the loss. 

Following a scoreless first half that featured quality chances for both sides, Rhatigan put the Green and White in front less than seven minutes into the second half. He settled a loose ball off the head of a Wesleyan defender, took a touch to his right and drilled a 22-yard shot past Blanc and inside the left post for his sixth goal of the season. 

White, who made a pair of first-half saves, preserved the lead with his best stop of the day in the 60th minute. Cardinals' senior Chris Porte (Madison, Conn.) gained possession of a pass played over the top of the defense but was denied when White came racing off his line and extended his left foot to kick away the shot. 

The Beavers outshot the visitors 9-6 in the first half and created multiple chances off of their five corner kicks. Graduate student Marco Cerezo (Malaga, Spain) had a header sail just over the crossbar in the 19th minute and had another header cleared off the line by Wesleyan senior Lucas Ruehlemann (Waldwick, N.J.) in the 41st minute. 

The Green and White finished with a 12-10 edge in shots and attempted six of the seven corner kicks in the match. 

Babson will now face Trinity (Texas) in the sectional semifinals. The game date and location will be announced later on Sunday. 

GAME NOTES
•    The Beavers are now 8-6-4 all-time against Wesleyan and Sunday's game was a rematch of a regular season contest that ended 0-0 back in early September. 
•    Babson is 22-7-4 all-time in NCAA Tournament games played at Hartwell-Rogers Field. 
•    The Green and White is 11-0-2 at home this season and have not conceded a goal on Hartwell-Rogers Field in over 816 minutes going back to September 24. 
•    The Beavers have now reached the Sweet 16 nine times in program history (1975, 1977-80, 1991, 2010, 2011).