BABSON PARK, Mass.— Senior Susan Rowley (Dedham, Mass.) scored five goals and added two assists for a career-high seven points and No. 1 Middlebury College rattled off 10 consecutive goals from midway through the first quarter to early in the third on the way to defeating Babson College, 18-5, in non-conference women's lacrosse action Sunday afternoon at MacDowell Field.

With the loss, Babson evens its record at 1-1 on the young season while two-time defending national champion Middlebury is off to a 2-0 start to its season after posting its 30th consecutive victory dating back to 2022.

Graduate student Lily Ives (Chappaqua, N.Y.) scored two goals and junior Clare Connolly (Hanover, Mass.) added a goal and an assist for the Beavers. Juniors Jessica Evans (Southbury, Conn.) and Kathryn Blake (Medfield, Mass.) notched one goal each, senior Eileen Manning (Needham, Mass.) scooped up a game-high four ground balls and Connolly collected six draw controls. Junior Kathleen Murphy (Scarborough, Maine) was impressive in goal for the Beavers and finished with 13 saves, one shy of her career high.

Junior Hope Shue (Dover, Mass.) contributed four goals and an assist, classmate Maggie Coughlin (Hanover, Mass.) scored three times, and sophomore Caroline Adams (Norwich, Vt.) chipped in with a goal and two assists. Shue also had four draw controls, four caused turnovers and two ground balls,  Adams and first-year Lucy Bishop (Seattle, Wash.) grabbed five draw controls each, and senior Sara Ellinghaus (Ridgewood, N.J.) picked up a team-high three ground balls. Junior Gina Driscoll (Orange, Conn.) made four saves in 51 minutes in goal and first-year Elizabeth Savage (Portsmouth, R.I.) stopped both shots she faced in the final eight-plus minutes in her collegiate debut.

After Coughlin and Shue scored the first two goals of the game for the visitors, Babson answered with a free position goal by Evans and a goal by Blake, with an assist from Connolly, to tie the score after just over four minutes of play. The Beavers held the Panthers to just two more goals in the first quarter, one each from Shue and Rowley, as Middlebury took a 4-2 lead into the second frame.

The Panthers took control of the game, scoring all seven of the goals in the second quarter. Rowley tallied two goals and two assists in the period, sophomore Caroline Messer (Greenwich, Conn.) scored twice, and Coughlin, Ellinghaus and first-year Kate Motley (McLean, Va.) all scored once as Middlebury pulled ahead 11-2 by halftime.

After Rowley opened the third quarter with her fourth goal of the day, Babson came alive with back-to-back goals, both on free position attempts. First it was Connolly with 11:06 on the clock followed by Ives three minutes later. Middlebury answered four straight goals, including two by Shue, to go up 16-4 at the end of three. The visitors got two more goals in the final frame, and Ives scored again for the Beavers.

Middlebury finished with a 37-13 margin in shots and won 16 of the 26 draws. The Panthers were successful on 14-of-16 clear attempts while holding the Beavers to 12-of-21.

Babson plays again next Sunday at 3 p.m. (ET) when it travels to No. 19 Chicago during the school's Spring Break. Middlebury will play its home opener on Saturday against Bowdoin at 12 p.m. at Peter Kohn Field.

GAME NOTES
• Babson is 1-6 all-time against Middlebury in a series that dates back to 2009.
• Murphy denied the Panthers on three of their six free-position shots.
• Evans and Connolly both extended their goal scoring streaks to eight games dating back to last season.