BABSON PARK, Mass.— Graduate student Lily Ives (Chappaqua, N.Y.) and junior Amelia Novitch (Dover, Mass.) combined for five goals and two assists and graduate student Anna Costello (Milton, Mass.) and senior Zoë Michaud (Bedford, N.H.) each caused four turnovers as top-seeded and No. 16 Babson College edged second-seeded and No. 20 MIT, 10-7, for its second consecutive New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's lacrosse championship Saturday afternoon at MacDowell Field.

With the victory, Babson improves to 16-2 overall and earns the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament while MIT falls to 16-4 overall and will have to wait until Monday morning to see if it is selected to receive an NCAA Tournament at-large berth. The final score was identical to the regular season score between the two schools back on April 10 in Cambridge.

Costello was selected the tournament's Most Outstanding Player as the Beaver defense withstood a strong second-half MIT rally, while Ives finished with three goals and Novitch contributed two goals and two assists. Junior Jessica Evans (Southbury, Conn.) chipped in with a goal and an assist. Seniors Nicole Darveau (Sudbury, Mass.) and Genevieve Bushey (Lakeville, Conn.) and juniors Clare Connolly (Hanover, Mass.) and Michaela Downer (North Andover, Mass.) scored once each, and Connolly dominated the draws with a game-high 13 draw controls. Fellow junior Kathleen Murphy (Scarborough, Maine) made 10 saves in goal in the win.

Sophomore Ashley Thomas (Summit, N.J.) scored three goals and classmate Nine Petulla (Natick, Mass.) contributed two goals and two assists. Senior Ellie Rabenold (Cincinnati, Ohio) and junior Julianne Flusche (Ridgewood, N.J.) scored once each as the Engineers scored five times on free position shots. Sophomore Molly Dulde (Delafield, Wis.) and first-year Pauline Vien (Brookline, Mass.) combined to make nine saves in goal in the setback.

MIT scored the only goal in the first 10 minutes of the game, a free-position marker by Rabebold five minutes after the opening draw. After being shut down early on, Babson erupted with four goals in the final four minutes of the opening frame as Darveau, Connolly, Novitch and Ives sparked the Beavers to a 4-1 lead.

Downer pushed the Babson lead to 5-1 with the first goal of the second quarter before Thomas notched her first of the game for MIT to stop the bleeding. Ives came right back just 41 second later and Novitch and Evans later scored while keeping the visitors at bay as Babson took an 8-2 advantage into halftime.

The Engineers came out strong in the second half, scoring all four goals in the third quarter while shutting down the Beavers. Flusche, Thomas and Petulla all scored on free position shots and Thomas put in a pass from Petulla to cut the margin to 8-6 heading into the fourth quarter.

Things got very interesting when Petulla fired in a free position goal with 11:19 on the clock to make it a one-goal game. After some opportunities by both teams, Ives broke the Engineers' back with 2:06 remaining and Bushey finished off the scoring with 59 seconds to go.

Babson had a narrow 23-21 advantage in shots and both teams were 18-of-20 on clears. MIT went 5-for-7 on free position attempts while the Beavers were 1-of-3.

The NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Tournament selection show is scheduled for Monday at 10:30 a.m. on NCAA.com.

GAME NOTES
• Babson is 39-6 all-time against MIT in a series that dates back to 1988 and has won nine of the last 11 games since 2016.
• The Beavers won their 10th NEWMAC championship after defeating the Engineers in the final for the second straight season. Their previous NEWMAC championships came in 2007-11, 2017-18, 2021, and 2023.
• Murphy posted her 16th victory of the season in the Babson goal, tying the program record held by Sarah Macary, who was 16-3 in 2008.