BABSON PARK, Mass.— Senior Amelia Novitch (Dover, Mass.) tallied three goals and three assists as No. 14/16 Babson College built a 16-5 lead and held off a comeback by Springfield College for a 16-11 victory in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's lacrosse game on Saturday afternoon at MacDowell Field.

Babson, ranked 14th by the IWLCA and 16th by USA Lacrosse Magazine, won its ninth straight game and improved to 12-2 overall and 9-0 in the NEWMAC. Springfield dropped its second consecutive game and fell to 12-3 overall and 7-2 in conference play. The Beavers clinched at least a share of their fifth NEWMAC regular season title in seven seasons and the top seed in the upcoming league tournament.

Senior Michaela Downer (North Andover, Mass.) scored three goals, graduate student Ellie Hilsabeck (Hingham, Mass.) added two goals and an assist, and senior Clare Connolly (Hanover, Mass.) contributed a pair of goals and 14 draw controls for the Beavers. Senior Jessica Evans (Southbury, Conn.) and Kathryn Blake (Medfield, Mass.) also scored twice, graduate student Eileen Manning (Needham, Mass.) finished with two caused turnovers and two ground balls, and senior Kathleen Murphy (Scarborough, Maine) was impressive in goal with 14 saves in the victory.

Junior Lily Johnson (Oceanside, N.Y.) filled up the stat sheet with four goals, two assists, four draw controls, two caused turnovers and three ground balls for the Pride. First-year Claire Ognibene (New Canaan, Conn.) added four goals, sophomore Hailey Gaydos (Newington, Conn.) collected a team-high six draw controls, and graduate student Kate Laico (East Meadow, N.Y.) made nine saves in the setback.

The Beavers took an early lead in the opening five minutes of the game with three goals by Connolly, Blake and Downer. Johnson put the Pride on the board with a free-position goal with four minutes to go in the quarter, and Hilsabeck and graduate student Maddie Roy (Wilbraham, Mass.) exchanged goals as the Beavers went into the second quarter with a 4-2 advantage.

Evans fired in a goal 28 seconds into the second before Ognibene converted a feed from Johnson at 8:34 to keep pace with the Beavers. Senior Cameron Rabenold (Cincinnati, Ohio) notched a goal for Babson with 6:24 on the clock and Downer added her second with 1:27 remaining to give the hosts a 7-3 margin at the break.

Evans opened the scoring again in the third quarter with a free-position goal 33 seconds after the opening whistle but first-year Payton Imhof (Bay Shore, N.Y.) answered for Springfield 33 seconds later. The Beavers exploded with the next seven goals over a 10-minute span, including three by Novitch and one each by Hilsabeck, Connolly, Downer, and Evans, to produce a 15-4 advantage with 2:45 left in the third. Ognibene stopped the bleeding for Springfield with her second of the game with 47 seconds left in the third frame.

After Blake extended the Babson lead to 16-5 early in the fourth quarter, Springfield attempted a comeback and scored the final six goals of the game, including three by Johnson, two by Ognibene and one by sophomore Izzy Lalancette (Feeding Hills, Mass.), but it was too little, too late for the Pride.
The Beavers finished with a 41-33 advantage in shots while Springfield has a 21-19 margin in ground balls and a 16-15 edge in draw controls. Babson was 2-for-9 in free position shots while the Pride were 5-for-9.

Both teams wrap up the regular season on Wednesday as Babson visits crosstown rival Wellesley at 7 p.m. and Springfield hosts Mount Holyoke at 6 p.m.

GAME NOTES
• Babson has won four in a row over the Pride is 24-21 all-time against Springfield in the all-time series that dates back to 1997.
• The Beavers have won 30 consecutive games against NEWMAC opponents going back to 2023 and are 79-8 against conference foes as far back as 2016.
• The Green and White recognized 11 seniors and three graduate students prior to the game, including seniors Novitch, Downer, Connolly, Blake, Evans, Murphy, Rabenold, Solana Fahey (North Andover, Mass.), Grayce Unger (West Newton, Mass.), Sophie Shuman (Topsfield, Mass.), Nora Lema (Duxbury, Mass.) and graduate students Manning, Hilsabeck, and Abbie Downer (North Andover, Mass.).