No. 3 Field Hockey vs. Springfield
Thursday, November 6 | 6:00 p.m.
MacDowell Field| Babson Park, Mass.

WHAT TO KNOW
• Four-time defending NEWMAC field hockey champion Babson begins its title defense on Thursday when it hosts Springfield in a tournament semifinal at MacDowell Field.
• The Beavers have won their last eight NEWMAC Tournament games since being upset by MIT in overtime in the 2019 title game in Babson Park, 3-2.

SERIES HISTORY
• Babson owns a 22-18 lead against Springfield in the all-time series that dates back to 1996.
• The Beavers have won 17 in a row over the Pride, including nine of the last 10 encounters by at least three goals.
• The Green and White have won the last 10 games versus Springfield at MacDowell Field since a 6-3 Pride win in the 2012 NEWMAC Tournament semifinals.

POSTSEASON HISTORY
• The Beavers and Pride will meet for the 11th time in NEWMAC Tournament history, with Babson winning six of the previous 10, including the last five and six of the last seven since 2010 after Springfield took the first three between 1998 and 2007.
• All 10 conference tournament games between the two sides took place in Babson Park.
• The Green and White are 2-1 against the Pride in quarterfinal games and 4-2 in the semifinals, while Springfield won the only championship game between the schools, 2-1 in overtime in 2005.

LAST MEETING
• Senior Caroline DiGiovanni broke a 1-1 tie with the go-ahead goal with less than 11 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to help No. 3 Babson edge upset-minded Springfield, 2-1, on October 21, 2025, at Stagg Field.
• Sophomore Penny Baroni also scored for the Beavers, and senior Alex Michelotti and first-year Anna Bonazzoli produced assists. First-year Madison Tibbals earned the win in goal without making any saves as the Beavers had a 13-1 advantage in shots on goal.
• Senior Sarah Healy scored the opening goal of the game for Springfield in the first quarter with an assist from junior Amber Wolkner. First-year goalkeeper Sam Orcutt finished with nine saves for the Pride, who led 1-0 after the first period and were tied going into the fourth quarter.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• No. 3 and top-seeded Babson (18-1, 9-0 NEWMAC) brings a 14-game winning streak into the post-season, capped by a 5-0 whitewash over Wheaton in the regular season finale on Saturday at MacDowell Field.
• DiGiovanni scored a pair of goals, graduate student Lauren Knight, junior Ashley Braren and sophomore Lauren Golden scored once each, and sophomore Penny Baroni contributed a pair of assists for the Beavers, who outshot the Lyons, 33-0.
• DiGiovanni (23-0-46) has 12 goals in her current six-game scoring streak and leads the NEWMAC in goals and points while Baroni (10-7-27) ranks in the top 10 in the conference in all three offensive categories. Braren (5-1-11) is third on the team in scoring and seniors Alex Michelotti (3-5-11), junior Grace Mullaney (2-5-9) and sophomore Charlotte Roe (1-5-7) are tied for second in assists.
• Tibbals (0.92 GAA, .778 sv. pct, 56 saves) has started 18 straight games between the pipes and allowed one goal or fewer 15 times with six shutouts. The rookie netminder leads the NEWMAC in goals against average and is tied for the lead with six shutouts.

SCOUTING THE PRIDE
• Fourth-seeded Springfield (13-6, 6-3 NEWMAC) brings a four-game winning streak into the semifinals after defeating fifth-seeded Salve Regina, 2-1, in a first-round game Tuesday in Springfield.
• First-year Rachel Simkewicz tallied a goal and an assist for the Pride, while senior Audrey Hayes scored the game-winner and junior Hailey Gaydos added an assist in the win. Orcutt finished with five saves in goal for the Pride, which had a 15-12 margin in shots and an 11-6 advantage in shots on goal.
• Simkewicz (16-4-36) is third in the NEWMAC in goals and fourth in points as a rookie while the veteran Gaydos (11-9-31) is seventh in goals, tied for third in assists and seventh in points. Senior Nicolette Morlock (6-7-19) and first-year Clare Moore (7-4-18) are also strong offensive threats for the Pride.
• Orcutt (1.57 GAA, .719 sv. pct, 110 saves) has started all 18 games in goal for the Pride and ranks fourth in the league in goals against average, save percentage and shutouts (4).

BABSON IN THE POST-SEASON
• The Beavers earned the top seed in the NEWMAC Tournament for the 10th consecutive season going back to 2015.
• Babson claimed the 2010, 2016, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 NEWMAC Tournament championships and has played in the title game seven times in eight seasons going back to 2016.
• The Beavers, who are 8-6 in the semifinal round going back to 2010, have played their last 16 conference playoff games at home since 2015.

NEWMAC HISTORY
• Babson owns a 76-game NEWMAC regular season winning streak going back to 2015.
• The Green and White have won 50 straight games overall vs. NEWMAC opponents since start of the 2021 season.
• The Beavers outscored their conference opponents 31-3 in nine games this season and 78-6 in the regular season over the past two years.

WEEKLY HONORS
• Caroline DiGiovanni was named NEWMAC Offensive Athlete of the Week for the second time in three weeks on Monday after erupting for six goals in a pair of victories over the University of New England and Wheaton.
• DiGiovanni is the fourth Beaver to earn conference weekly honors twice this season, including Baroni (Offense, 9/2, 10/14), Bonazzoli (Defense, 9/8, 10/20), and Tibbals (Defense, 9/22, 10/14),.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
• Babson is 10-0 at home this season and has won 19 in a row at MacDowell Field dating back to last year.
• The Beavers are 35-1 on home turf since the beginning of the 2023 season and have won 59 of its last 64 home games since 2021.
• Fourteen of the last 21 wins and 22 of the last 35 home victories have come by way of the shutout.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
• DiGiovanni continues to move up on the Babson career scoring lists, as she now ranks fourth on the Babson career goals list with 57, and ninth on the career points list with 119.
• DiGiovanni also climbed to fifth on the Babson single-season goals list with 23, passing current assistant coach Tori Roche '20 who scored 22 goals in 2018, and Lauren Curley '22 who had 22 markers in 2019.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• Babson is 8-0 this season in games decided by one goal and has won 26 of 33 games over the past five years in games determined by a single goal.
• The Green and White have won their last 81 games over the past five years when leading at halftime.
• Since the start of the 2021 season, Babson is 88-2 when holding the opponent to no more than one goal. The only losses were 1-0 in overtime at No. 8 Williams in 2024 and 1-0 to No. 4 Johns Hopkins in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals in 2022.

UP NEXT
• The winner of the Babson-Springfield game will face the winner of the semifinal between second-seeded WPI and third-seeded-MIT on Saturday in the final at the site of the highest remaining seed, with the champion receiving an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Championships.