No. 16 Women's Lacrosse vs. No. 20 MIT
NEWMAC Tournament Final
Saturday, May 4 | 1:00 p.m.
MacDowell Field | Babson Park, Mass.

WHAT TO KNOW
• Top-seeded Babson will defend its NEWMAC Tournament championship and seek its third title in four years when it hosts third-seeded MIT in the title game on Saturday afternoon at MacDowell Field.
• The two teams are meeting in the postseason for the 12th time going back to 1998 and the second straight year in the title game.

SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 38-6 all-time against MIT in a series that dates back to 1988.
• The Beavers have won eight of the last 10 games against the Engineers since 2016.
• Seven of the last nine matchups between the teams have been decided by three goals or fewer.

LAST MEETING
• Juniors Amelia Novitch and Michaela Downer both scored three goals and classmate Clare Connolly led all players with 10 draw controls to help 20th-ranked Babson defeat No. 15 MIT, 10-7, on April 20, 2024, at Jack Barry Field. 
• Junior Jessica Evans had two goals and graduate student Lily Ives and senior Nicole Darveau both scored once for the Beavers. Graduate student Anna Costello and senior Kayleigh Hacker both recorded three caused turnovers and two ground balls, while junior goalkeeper Kathleen Murphy made seven saves in the victory. 
• Sophomore Ashley Thomas scored three times, junior Sydney Pyon had two goals and senior Faith Bulan tied for game-high honors with three forced turnovers and two ground balls to lead the Engineers. Senior Ellie Rabenold, who was held without a goal or a point for the first time in 42 games going back to 2022, won a team-high four draws, while sophomore Molly Dulde made 10 saves in the loss. 

LAST YEAR'S TITLE GAME
• Claudia Dodge '23, Erin Jayne '23 and Evans all scored twice during a 9-1 spurt that propelled second-seeded Babson to a 13-10 win over 22nd-ranked and top-seeded MIT in the 2023 NEWMAC Tournament final on May 6 at Jack Barry Field in Cambridge.
• Jayne, Evans and Emily Curtis M'23 all had three goals, while Dodge contributed two goals, two assists and two caused turnovers for the Beavers. Curtis and Connolly, who led all players with 12 draw controls, also forced a pair of turnovers and Murphy made 10 saves in the victory.
• Rabenold had three goals and two assists, while Thomas and Pyon both scored twice for the Engineers. Abigail Kolyer '23 finished with six saves in the loss.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• No. 16 Babson (15-2, 10-0 NEWMAC) brings a four-game winning streak into the title game after defeating fourth-seeded Coast Guard in Wednesday's semifinals, 7-3, at MacDowell Field.
• Evans led all players with three goals, Novitch chipped in with a goal and an assist, and Costello (5) and seniors Zoë Michaud (5) and Eileen Manning (4) combined for 14 caused turnovers in the win. Connolly scored once and led all players with six draw controls, Manning scooped up a game-high six ground balls, and Murphy made three saves and also contributed three forced turnovers and two ground balls in the victory.
• The Green and White have a 60-point scorer in Ives (48-17-65) and two 50-point scorers in Novitch (34-25-59) and junior Kathryn Blake (31-22-53). Evans (36-11-47) and Connolly (33-2-35) both have 30-plus goals and both Darveau (25-7-32) and Downer (23-4-27) have at least 20 goals. Connolly leads the NEWMAC in draw controls (184) and Costello (46) and Manning (43) are both in the top six in ground balls.
• Costello is tied for the NEWMAC lead with 47 caused turnovers while Michaud (31) and Manning (30) are in the top seven. Murphy has started 57 consecutive games and owns a career-best 7.30 goals against average and a .461 save percentage.

SCOUTING THE ENGINEERS
• No. 20 MIT (16-3, 8-2 NEWMCAC) is riding a four-game winning streak after a 15-10 victory over second-seeded Springfield on the road on Wednesday.
• The Engineers put together a 10-1 second-half run to spark the team to victory. Rabenold led the team with four goals, Thomas and senior Meredith Arterburn tallied three goals and an assist each, and sophomore Gwen Flusche chipped in with two goals and a helper. Gwen Flusche and junior Julianne Flusche each collected five draw controls, Rabenold grabbed four ground balls, and Dulde (3) and first-year Pauline Vien (7) combined for 10 saves in goal.
• Thomas (70-42-112) leads the NEWMAC in goals and points and Rabenold (61-32-93) is in the top 10 in all three offensive categories. Julianne Flusche (40-21-61) and Pyon (29-10-39) are also high-scoring veterans and Gwen Flusche (49) leads the team in draw controls.
• Dulde (8.42 GAA, .539 sv. pct) has started 17 games in goal and has earned 12 wins between the pipes. Vien has 12 appearances with two starts and leads the NEWMAC in GAA (6.53) and save percentage (.600).

NEWMAC TOURNEY HISTORY
• Babson is making its 16th appearance in the NEWMAC Tournament final since 2007, going 9-6 in the previous 15 contests.
• The Beavers claimed NEWMAC championships in 2007-11, 2017-18, 2021, and 2023.
• The Green and White defeated Springfield in the title game six times, Wellesley twice and MIT once.

POST-SEASON NUMBERS
• Evans has recorded 19 points (16g, 3a) in five post-season games since last season, while Connolly collected 49 draw controls, 10 ground balls, seven goals and four caused turnovers and Manning finished has 11 ground ball and 10 caused turnovers in five outings.
• Hacker has produced scooped up 17 ground balls and caused three turnovers in 10 career postseason starts, and Michaud has six ground balls and 10 caused turnovers in seven career postseason games.
• Murphy has a 5-2 career record in seven postseason starts with a 9.71 goals against average and a .433 save percentage.

NATIONAL STATS RANKINGS
• The Beavers are ranked 14th in Division III in scoring offense (16.59 goals/game), seventh in scoring margin (+10.00) and sixth in scoring defense (6.59 goals/game).
• The Green and White are fourth in free position scoring percentage (.575).
• Babson is 16th in draw control percentage (.617) and 30th in draw controls per game (16.24).
• Connolly ranks first in draw controls per game (10.76) and Costello is 30th in caused turnovers per game (2.76).
• Murphy ranks 10th in goals against average and 59th in save percentage.

WEEKLY HONORS
• Costello won her second NEWMAC Defensive Athlete of the Week honor on Monday after scooping up four ground balls and tying for team-high honors with two caused turnovers in the regular-season finale victory over Wellesley last week.
• Costello is one of three Beavers to win the conference weekly defensive honor, along with Michaud and Murphy.

DOMINENCE IN CONFERENCE PLAY
• Babson is 58-5 in regular season games against NEWMAC opponents since the start of 2016.
• Twenty of the last 25 victories against conference schools going back to 2022 have been by at least 10 goals.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
• Costello set the program single-season record with 48 caused turnovers, breaking the mark of 47 held by Lisa Campofranco '06 in 2006.
• Connolly's 184 draw controls are second-most in a season in program history, behind only the 228 she collected last season.
• Murphy's 15 wins are tied for second in single-season history with Jennie Williams (2007) and Sarah Macary (2009), and just one behind Macary's record mark of 16-3 set in 2008.
• Murphy has also moved into second place on the career victories list with a 41-16 record, trailing Macary's 54-18 mark from 2008-11.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Beavers are 7-1 at home this season.
• Babson has won 26 in a row and 51 of its last 52 games when holding its opponents to 10 goals or fewer.
• The Green and White are 26-1 since the start of last season when scoring 12 or more goals, including 13-1 this season.
• Babson is unbeaten this season (13-0) and 25-2 since last season when leading at halftime.

UP NEXT
• The winner of Saturday's game will receive the NEWMAC's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III championship tournament, with the field to be announced on Monday at 10:30 a.m. on NCAA.com.