No. 3 Field Hockey vs. Endicott
Friday, August 30 | 4 p.m.
MacDowell Field | Babson Park, Mass.

WHAT TO KNOW
• Coming off a season that included a third straight NEWMAC Championship and advancing to the 2023 NCAA Tournament national semifinals, the Beavers open the 2024 campaign against Endicott Friday afternoon at MacDowell Field.
• The Green and White have amassed a 62-8 record over the past three seasons and will be aiming to return to glory in 2024 with seven returning starters, including one All-American and three All-Region selections.

SERIES HISTORY
• Babson holds a 12-4 advantage against Endicott in the all-time series that dates back to 1984.
• After winning seven in a row from 2010-2016, the Beavers have captured four of the last five contests, including a 4-0 verdict in the season opener last year in Beverly, Mass..
• The Green and White are 8-3 all-time against the Gulls in games played in Babson Park, with wins in seven of the last eight outings. The only recent blemish was a 3-1 Endicott win on MacDowell Field on August 30, 2019, five years ago to the day.

LAST MEETING
• Meara Hanyon '23 M'24 tallied a goal and an assist as Babson scored twice in the first and third quarters on the way to a 4-0 victory over Endicott on September 1 at North Field in Beverly.
• Brianne McGrath '23 M'24, Sinead Walsh M'24 and senior Berit Sharrow also scored for the Beavers and Daniela Parrado-Nazal M'24 picked up an assist. Senior Bayla Furmanek needed to make just one save for her ninth career shutout.
• Junior goalie Alexis DeMattia shined for the Gulls despite the loss with a career-high-tying eight-save effort in 35 minutes of action.

HEAD COACHES
• Babson is led by 18th-year head coach Julie Ryan, who has achieved a 249-94 record (.726), including a 109-20 mark against NEWMAC opponents. A nine-time Coach of the Year, she has led the program to five conference tournament championships and seven NCAA Tournament berths. Ryan ranks 16th in Division III history in winning percentage and 16th in wins among active coaches.
• Endicott is guided by 18th-year head coach Jodi Cipolla, who has recorded a 225-110 mark (.672) with the Gulls, including 117-30 in conference play. A five-time Coach of the Year, she has led her teams to six conference championships and six NCAA Tournament appearances as well as the 2008 ECAC New England title.

A LOOK BACK
• Babson wrapped up another outstanding campaign in 2023, finishing 22-2 overall, including a 16-game winning streak, and unbeaten (9-0) in NEWMAC regular season play for the seventh consecutive season to capture the program's eighth straight regular season title.
• The Beavers posted NEWMAC playoff victories over Springfield (9-0) and No. 20 MIT (3-1) to capture the program's third straight and fifth overall conference championship, earning their eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the sixth in the last seven seasons.
• After a first-round bye, the second-ranked Green and White defeated No. 7 Bates (1-0 OT) and No. 10 Tufts (1-0) in NCAA Tournament play at MacDowell Field before a 3-0 loss to top-ranked Middlebury in the national semifinals in Virginia, the program's second appearance as one of the final four teams.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson (0-0) returns 19 veterans from last year's conference championship squad, which set a single-season program record with 112 goals while allowing just 17, the third fewest in program history.
• Sharrow, a two-time first-team All-American defender, anchored a back line that posted 13 shutouts. She also registered career highs offensively with eight goals and seven assists for 23 points. Senior MF Camille Marsh is a returning All-Region first team selection after recording 16 goals and 37 points, and Furmanek (0.71 GAA, 13 SO) was an All-Region second team pick in goal after setting a Babson single-season record with 22 victories.
• The Beavers return five players who produced at least 20 points in 2023 -- Marsh, senior Jessica Evans (9-10-28), Sharrow, junior Caroline DiGiovanni (10-0-20) and graduate student Andrea Marguerite (7-6-20).
• The Green and White is one of two programs along with Middlebury to win at least 19 games in four consecutive seasons (2019-23).

SCOUTING THE GULLS
• Endicott (0-0) is coming off a 16-5 campaign in 2023, including a 4-1 record in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (now called Conference of New England). The Gulls downed the University of New England (3-1) and Roger Williams (2-1) to capture its sixth CCC Championship before falling to No. 24 Ithaca in overtime (3-2) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
• Junior Tori Swanson (21-5-47) was All-Region first team and CCC Offensive Co-Player of the Year while classmate Maddy Dengler (14-6-34) was also All-Region first team for the Gulls. Fellow junior Reagan Hicks (12-7-31) was second on the team in goals and earned All-Region second team honors.
• Junior Abby Antonelli (5-4-14) was the CCC Co-Rookie of the Year and All-Conference second team, junior goalie Alexis DeMattia (1-5, 1.50 GAA) was All-CCC first team, and seniors Kathleen Reissfelder (11-11-33) and Maddy Young (0-2-2) were second team selections.

SOLID DEPTH
• Babson welcomes back several other key contributors from last year's squad.
• Junior Sanne van der Goes started all 23 games on defense after starting 17 of her 19 games in the back as a rookie in 2022. Senior Ellie Powers in a four-year veteran on defense with 54 games of experience, including 12 starts over her first three years.
• Junior Laney Reed (4-2-10) has appeared as a reserve in 26 games in her first two seasons, and sophomore Ashley Braren (2-0-4) saw action in all 24 games as a rookie in 2023.

GRADUATE ASSISTANCE
• The Beavers have valuable experience on this year's team with four graduate students, including returning veteran Marguerite, who was All-NEWMAC and All-Region first team in 2022.
• Graduate transfers include back Brooklyn Lamb (Boston U.), midfielder Katie Guden (Holy Cross), and forward Sophie Croci (Rhodes), who was a 2022 All-Region and 2023 Southern Athletic Association Offensive Player of the Year after tallying 23 goals, six assists and 52 points.

SEASON OPENERS
• Babson has won three straight and 14 of its last 15 season openers dating back to 2008, including last year's 4-0 victory at Endicott.
• The Beavers had an 11-game winning streak in season debuts snapped in 2019 with a 3-1 loss to Endicott.

NFHCA DIVISION III POLL
• Babson has been ranked in the Division III top five in 10 straight polls going back to September 12 of last year, and in the top 10 in 27 consecutive polls dating back to October 5, 2021.
• The Beavers have appeared in 80 polls in a row dating back to September 21, 2015.

NEWMAC PRESEASON POLL
• The Beavers were picked to defend their New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) championship when the preseason coaches' poll was released last week.
• Babson, which has won 59 straight regular season conference games, received nine out of 10 first-place votes.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
• The Green and White will play just three of their first 10 games on home turf at MacDowell Field.
• Babson finished 14-0 at home last season and has won 38 of its last 42 home games since the start of the 2021 season.
• Eight of last year's 14 wins came by way of the shutout as the Beavers outscored their opponents 73-8.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Beavers were 22-1 last year and 57-1 over the past three seasons when scoring the first goal of the game.
• Babson has won its last 54 games over the past three campaigns when leading at halftime.
• The Green and White were 20-1 last season when scoring at least two goals and have won 121 straight games since 2014 when scoring at least three times.
• The Beavers finished 20-0 a year ago when holding opponents to one goal or less and have won 86 of 88 contests since 2018 when keeping opponents to fewer than two goals.

UP NEXT
• The Beavers will be home again on Tuesday, hosting Connecticut College at 6 p.m. at MacDowell Field.