Men's Soccer vs. Coast Guard
NEWMAC Tournament Semifinal
Thursday, November 6 | 1 p.m.
Hartwell-Rogers Field | Babson Park, Mass.
SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 43-9-9 all-time against Coast Guard in a series that dates back to 1968.
• The Beavers are unbeaten in their last seven matches (5-0-2) versus the Bears going back to 2018.
• The Green and White has won three straight matches between the sides in Babson Park after suffering one-goal losses in both 2014 and 2016.
POSTSEASON HISTORY
• Babson and Coast Guard will meet in the conference playoffs for the first time since 2008 and fifth time overall on Thursday afternoon.
• The Beavers defeated the Bears 2-1 in the 2008 NEWMAC semifinals, 3-0 in the 2002 quarterfinals and 1991 Constitution Athletic Conference (CAC) semifinals, and also advanced on penalty kicks following a 0-0 draw in the 2000 NEWMAC semifinals.
• Each of the four previous matches have been played on Hartwell-Rogers Field.
LAST MEETING
• Babson and Coast Guard traded second-half goals to finish in a 1-1 draw last Saturday in New London, Conn.
• Nick Yorgason opened the scoring with his first goal of the season in the 52nd minute but senior
Joao Araujo touched home the rebound of his own penalty kick for the equalizer in the 64th minute for the Green and White.
• Sophomore goalkeeper
JB Montague finished with four saves for the Beavers, while Jack Putnam made six of his seven saves over the final 45 minutes for the Bears.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Second-seeded Babson (8-6-4) is 1-1-1 over its last three matches and secured a top-two seed in the NEWMAC Tournament for the seventh consecutive season with last Saturday's draw at Coast Guard.
• Junior
Alexander Yablonovskiy (8-1-17) is tied for fourth in goals and ranks fifth in the conference in points, while classmate
Titus Charles (3-1-7) and first-year
Connor Hanrahan (3-1-7) have combined for three game-winning goals.
• First-year
Will Boecher (2-3-7) leads the team in assists and junior
Will Lloyd (2-1-5) and Araujo (1-2-4) each scored once in league player during the regular season.
• Montague is 7-4-2 in 14 starts this fall and ranks second among NEWMAC goalkeepers in save percentage (.838), is tied for second with five shutouts and ranks third with a 0.82 goals against average.
SCOUTING THE BEARS
• Third-seeded Coast Guard (7-5-7) defeated sixth-seeded Springfield 4-3 on penalty kicks following a 1-1 draw in the NEWMAC quarterfinals on Tuesday night.
• Alex Thissell tied the game in the 39th minute, Putnam made six saves over 110 minutes and stopped the Pride's first attempt in the shootout, and Oliver Perry converted the fifth and final penalty kick in his only action of the match as the Bears advanced to the conference semifinals for the third year in a row.
• Cole Miller (5-1-11) leads the team with three game-winning goals, Aki Freeman (2-3-7) and Jake Fish (1-3-5) are first on the squad in assists, and Aidan Miles (3-0-6) has provided two game-winning markers and is one of 14 players with at least one tally this fall.
• Putnam, who started just one match in the month of October, is 0-2-4 with a 1.04 goals against average and a .806 save percentage to go along with one shutout in seven starts this fall.
NEWMAC TOURNAMENT TRENDS
• The defending NEWMAC Tournament champions, Babson has claimed 11 titles since the formation of the conference in 1998.
• The Beavers are 17-4-1 in their last 22 semifinal matches and has advanced to the tournament final 17 times, which includes the last six championships since 2018.
• Since suffering a 1-0 loss to Springfield in the 2018 NEWMAC final, the Green and White is 9-0-1 in the conference playoffs while capturing four titles (2019, 2021, 2022, 2024).
• The Beavers have won seven consecutive conference playoff games on Hartwell-Rogers Field since 2019 while outscoring their foes 12-1.
TOURNAMENT TESTED
• Yablonovksiy has scored three goals in nine career postseason games, which includes a first-half marker in last year's 2-0 NEWMAC championship game win over Salve Regina.
• Araujo has started nine postseason games over the last two seasons and has seen action in 11 conference or NCAA Tournament contests since 2022.
• Lloyd played every minute of Babson's four NCAA Tournament matches last November and started seven of nine postseason games over the first two years of his career.
LEGEND ON THE SIDELINES
• Babson head coach
Jon Anderson '75, who is now in his 40th season, ranks second among active Division III coaches and 12th all-time with 479 career wins.
• He 32-11-5 in NEWMAC Tournament matches and owns 47 career conference or NCAA Tournament victories going back to 1986.
• In addition to the wins his 98 draws rank third all-time in Division III.
WHEN 90 MINUTES ISN'T ENOUGH
• No overtime was played during regular season contests for the third consecutive season but all postseason matches will feature two 10-minute sudden-death overtime periods if a game is deadlocked at the end of regulation.
• If the game remains tied after both overtime sessions, a winner will be decided by penalty kicks.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
• Despite last Wednesday's loss to No. 8 Wheaton, the Beavers are 20-1 against NEWMAC foes at Hartwell-Rogers Field going back to 2021.
• In 13 home games versus conference opponents since October 14, 2023, Babson has conceded just one goal and had posted 12 consecutive shutouts before conceding a first-half goal in last week's 1-0 loss to the Lyons.
• The Green and White is 8-1 this fall when scoring the opening goal of the match but is 0-5-4 when conceding first.
• The Beavers are 6-0-1 on the season when scoring at least two goals.
• Babson has not allowed a second-half goal in any of its last five matches at home going back to September 30.
• The Green and White has limited 15 of its 18 opponents this fall to one goal or fewer.
UP NEXT
• The winner of Thursday's semifinal will advance to face either top-seeded and eight-ranked Wheaton or fifth-seeded WPI in Saturday's NEWMAC final.
