No. 14/13 Women's Lacrosse vs. Coast Guard
NEWMAC Tournament Semifinal
Wednesday, April 30 | 6:00 p.m.
MacDowell Field | Babson Park, Mass.

WHAT TO KNOW
• Babson begins its quest for a third straight NEWMAC Tournament championship and fourth title in five years with a home playoff game on Wednesday evening.
• After receiving a first-round bye, the top-seeded Beavers will host fourth-seeded Coast Guard for the second year in a row in a semifinal matchup at 6 p.m. at MacDowell Field.

SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 12-0 all-time against Coast Guard in a series that dates back to 2015.
• The Beavers have scored at least 13 goals in 11 of the 12 matchups.
• The Green and White are 6-0 against the Bears at MacDowell Field.
• Babson is 3-0 against Coast Guard in the NEWMAC Tournament, with all three wins coming in the semifinals (2018, 2021, 2024).

LAST MEETING
• Seniors Kathryn Blake and Amelia Novitch tallied five points each and 10 players scored at least one goal as No. 13/19 Babson sailed past Coast Guard, 18-3, back on March 15, 2025, at MacDowell Field.
• Blake finished with a game-high five goals and Novitch accounted for two goals and a game-high three assists for the Beavers. Classmate Michaela Downer chipped in with three goals, graduate student Ellie Hilsabeck was good for two goals and an assist, and senior Jessica Evans added a goal and an assist in the victory. Senior Clare Connolly grabbed 10 draw controls, graduate student Eileen Manning caused three turnovers, and senior Kathleen Murphy made four saves on five shots in goal to secure the win.
• Seniors Laine Weber and Caitlyn Coates and first-year Rileigh Leary each scored once for the Bears. First-year Ella Campbell collected six draw controls, Campbell and classmate Riley Demory caused a pair of turnovers each, and juniors Rowan Walsh and Gabriella Kraus-Rivera scooped up three ground balls apiece. Senior Maici Mintchwarner made 11 saves in goal in the setback.

LAST YEAR'S SEMIFINAL MATCH-UP
• Evans led all players with three goals and Anna Costello M'24 set a new single-season program record with five caused turnovers to help 16th-ranked and top-seeded Babson defeat fourth-seeded Coast Guard, 7-3, on May 1, 2024, in a NEWMAC Tournament semifinal at MacDowell Field. 
• Novitch finished with a goal and an assist and Connolly scored once and led all players with six draw controls. Zoë Michaud '24 registered five caused turnovers, Manning scooped up a game-high six ground balls to go along with four caused turnovers, and Murphy made three saves and also contributed three forced turnovers and two ground balls in the victory.
• Addy Bass '24 had two goals, classmates Mia Becker and Caitlin Kelly both recorded three caused turnovers and Mintchwarner made nine saves in the loss for the Bears. 

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson (13-2, 10-0 NEWMAC), ranked 14th in Division III by the IWLCA and 13th by USA Lacrosse Magazine, brings a 10-game winning streak into the tournament after a 25-1 victory at Wellesley in the regular season finale on Wednesday at Wellesley's Butler Stadium.
• Novitch finished with four goals and three assists and Connolly contributed two goals, two assists and 20 draw controls for the Beavers, who led 11-0 with 4:28 to go in the first quarter. Hilsabeck and Blake both scored five times, while junior Lilly Bedard and first-year Estelle Gromko chipped in with a goal and two assists apiece in the win. Murphy and sophomores Morgan McGahan and Valentina Erigoyen all recorded two saves on the night.
• The Beavers have a balanced offensive attack led by Novitch (32-33-65) and Blake (40-20-60), while Connolly (44-2-46) leads the team in goals and tops the NEWMAC in draw controls (197). Hilsabeck (29-10-39), Downer (23-8-31), and Evans (21-7-28) give the Green and White six players with at least 20 goals and 28 points.
• Manning (21 caused turnovers) leads a defense that has allowed just 7.8 goals per game. Murphy has a career-best 7.93 goals against average and .524 save percentage with 98 saves, 26 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers in the crease.

SCOUTING THE BEARS
• Coast Guard (10-5, 7-3 NEWMAC) advanced to the semifinals with a 10-9 overtime victory over fifth-seeded Smith on Saturday in New London, Conn.
• Coates scored a game-high four goals, including the overtime game-winner, junior Abby McAllister contributed a goal and three assists, and senior Katharine Rott tallied three goals for the Bears. Senior Kira Howard added a goal and an assist along with four draw controls and three ground balls, junior Isabella Judge each chipped in with a goal and an assist, and Walsh collected four caused turnovers and seven ground balls in the win. Mintchwarner earned the win in goal after making eight saves.
• The Bears boast a balanced attack on offense, led by McAllister (34-29-63) and Coates (46-11-57). Weber (31-13-44), Howard (20-17-37), Judge (15-14-29) and Rott (22-2-24) give Coast Guard six players with at least 24 points, Campbell has a team-high 52 draw controls, and Walsh leads the team with 29 caused turnovers and 30 ground balls.
• Mintchwarner  has started all 15 games between the pipes for the Bears and has a 9.21 goals against avera and a .482 save percentage with 119 saves.

WEEKLY HONORS
• Novitch was named the NEWMAC Offensive Athlete of the Week honor on Monday after scoring a season-high four goals and adding three assists for a season-best seven points in the win over Wellesley in the regular season finale last Wednesday.
• Novitch is one of three Beavers to win the conference weekly honors this season, along with Connolly  (offense twice) and Murphy (defense twice).

NEWMAC TOURNEY HISTORY
• Babson is making its 17th appearance in the NEWMAC Tournament semifinals since 2007, going 16-0 in the previous semifinal contests.
• The Beavers went on to claim 10 NEWMAC championships (2007-11, 2017-18, 2021, 2023-24).

SUCCESS IN THE NEWMAC 
• Babson has won 31 consecutive games against NEWMAC opponents going back to 2023 and is 82-8 against conference foes as far back as 2016.
• The Green and White have outscored the opponents 199-64 in the 10 conference wins this season.

POST-SEASON NUMBERS
• Evans has recorded 26 points (22g, 4a) in eight post-season games over the last two seasons, while Novitch has 19 points (15g, 4a) and Blake has 12 points (9g, 3a) in those eight games.
• Connolly has collected 77 draw controls in eight post-season games the past two years, and Manning has accumulated 14 caused turnovers and 18 ground balls over 10 career playoff games.
• Murphy has a 7-3 career record in 10 postseason starts with a 10.03 goals against average and a .455 save percentage.

SENIOR MILESTONES
• Novitch (109), Blake (107), and Connolly (102) have all reached the 100-goal career milestone for the Beavers this season, and Evans (99) is on track to become the fourth this year and 23rd in program history to hit the century mark.
• Novitch (69) has moved up to fifth on the career assist mark, and Blake (55) is tied for 11th with Misha Beatty '14.
• Murphy owns the program record for victories with a 56-19 mark, ranks second in minutes with 4026, and fifth in saves (493). She currently ranks in the top-five all-time with a 9.14 goals against average and a .446 save percentage.

BEAVER BITES
• Novitch has three straight and seven multi-goal performances in her last eight games, totaling 11 games this season with at least two goals.
• Blake has scored at least two goals in 14 of her 15 games this spring, with a season-high five goals against both Coast Guard and Wellesley. 
• Connolly has a team-high nine-game scoring streak.
• The Division III all-time leader in draw controls, Connolly has moved up to second all-time in all divisions with 720, trailing only Maddie Jenner of Duke (791 from 2019-23).

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• Babson is 11-0 this season and 26-0 over the past two seasons when leading at halftime.
• The Beavers are 13-0 this season and 39-1 over the past three seasons when scoring 12 or more goals.
• The Green and White are 10-0 this season and 23-0 dating back to last season when recording more ground balls than their opponents.

UP NEXT
• The winner of Wednesday's game will advance to face the winner of the other semifinal between third-seeded Springfield and second-seeded MIT in the NEWMAC championship game on Saturday at the site of the higher remaining seed.