BABSON PARK, Mass. — Senior Elisa Diletizia (Canton, Mass.) scored a pair of goals for the second time in three games to lead fourth-seeded Babson College to a 3-1 victory over fifth-seeded Wheaton College in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's soccer tournament quarterfinal on Tuesday afternoon at Hartwell-Rogers Field.

With the victory, the Beavers improve to 8-6-5 overall and advance to a semifinal game on Thursday, while the Lyons had a seven-game unbeaten streak snapped and finish the season at 8-5-7.

First-year Josie Lee (Duxbury, Mass.) also scored for the Beavers and sophomores Claudia Baiter (Miami, Fla.) and Caroline Sutherland (Millville, Mass.) registered assists in the triumph. Senior Nora Ryan (Abington, Mass.) made a pair of saves to earn the victory in goal.

Sophomore Maya Thomas (Goffstown, N.H.) potted the lone goal for the Lyons with an assist from junior Julia Sternat (Ellington, Conn.). Junior Patricia Bandrup (Poway, Calif.) made eight saves between the pipes in the setback.

Lee gave the Beavers an early lead with her third goal of the season in the 10th minute. Diletizia sent a cross into the box from the left side, and Lee beat a defender to track it down, chipped it passed the reach of the keeper and then buried it into the upper left side of the net.

Wheaton got its first shot on goal a minute later from long range by senior Allison Kramer (Irvine, Calif.) but Ryan corralled it on one hop. Sutherland had a solid shot from the right side of the box for Babson in the 22nd minute that was stopped by Bandrup, and Sternat sailed a free kick over the goal for the visitors with six minutes remaining in the half.

The Beavers put some solid pressure on the Wheaton goal in the closing minutes of the half, including senior Emma Mumby (Westborough, Mass.) ringing a shot off the crossbar with 2:52 on the clock but the teams went into the break with the hosts up 1-0.

The Green and White had a couple of chances to start the second half but senior Carolina Silva (Miami, Fla.) hit a 10-yard shot over the cross bar and Bandrup denied a close shot by Diletizia. Baiter put a header on goal off a corner kick by senior Jordyn Ferrantino (Millis, Mass.) in the 56th minute but Bandrup made a leaping hand save to keep it a one-goal contest, and the Wheaton keeper made another save on a tricky shot by Ferrantino from 30 yards out. Bandrup also made back-to-back saves on Silva in the 60th minute to keep it a one-goal game.

The Beavers finally got one past Bandrup in the 61st minute when Baiter sent a ball over the top from her own side of the center stripe and Diletizia ran it down behind the Wheaton defense and blasted a shot from 15 yards out inside the right post to make it 2-0. Bandrup was forced to make a kick save in the 65th minute when first-year Lillian McAughan (Bellevue, Wash.) weaved through the defense and ripped a shot from eight yards out.

Wheaton cut the margin in half with just 11:40 remaining after forcing a Babson turnover deep in its own zone. Sternat sent Thomas in alone on the right side with a nice through-ball, and Thomas finished inside the left post to pull the visitors to within one goal.

Babson needed just four minutes to get that goal back when Diletizia carried the ball down the right side and broke towards the goal before beating Bandrup with a dagger inside the near post for her second of the game. Wheaton managed just one shot the rest of the way but Ryan had no problem on the long shot by senior Lauren Ditullio (Hanover, Mass.) in the 85th minute.

The Green and White finished with a 22-6 advantage in shots, 11-3 in shots on goal, and the home team had a 4-1 margin in corner kicks.

The Beavers will face top-seeded and third-ranked MIT in the semifinals on Thursday in Cambridge.

GAME NOTES
• Babson is unbeaten in four straight games against the Lyons and is 16-28-10 all-time against Wheaton in a series that dates back to 1981. 
• The Beavers are 3-6-2 all-time against the Lyons in the playoffs going back to 1987, although Tuesday's game was the first between the two sides since 2016.
• The Green and White have won five straight home games against NEWMAC foes and are 5-1-1 this season vs. conference opponents.
• With Tuesday's win, Babson has advanced to the NEWMAC semifinals in nine of their last 12 tournament appearances since 2012.