BABSON PARK, Mass.—Senior Clare Connolly (Hanover, Mass.) scored five of the last six goals, including the overtime game-winner, as No. 14/16 Babson College rallied from a 13-7 deficit late in the third quarter to edge MIT, 14-13, in a dramatic New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's lacrosse game on Wednesday evening at MacDowell Field.

Babson, ranked 14th by the IWLCA and 16th by USA Lacrosse Magazine, extended its winning streak to five games and improved to 8-2 overall and 7-0 in the NEWMAC. MIT dropped its second straight game and fell to 6-7 overall and 5-1 in league play.

Connolly finished with a game-high five goals and nine draw controls, while senior Amelia Novitch (Dover, Mass.) registered three goals, three assists and a team-high four ground balls, and classmate Kathryn Blake (Medfield, Mass.) ended up with three goals and two assists for the Beavers. Senior Jessica Evans (Southbury, Conn.) collected three caused turnovers, three ground balls and three draw controls, and sophomore Claire Jones (Sudbury, Mass.) contributed four draw controls, two caused turnovers and three ground balls in the win. Senior Kathleen Murphy (Scarborough, Maine) made nine saves in goal to record the victory.

Junior Ashley Thomas (Summit, N.J.) led the Engineers with six points on two goals and four assists, and senior Julianne Flusche (Ridgewood, N.J.) finished with three goals and three assists along with seven draw controls and three caused turnovers, and junior Annica Lam (Livingston, N.J.) potted three goals and scooped up four ground balls. Senior Sydney Pyon (Garnet Valley, Pa.) and sophomore Jillian Butler (Brecksville, Ohio) contributed a goal and an assist each, and sophomore Pauline Vien (Brookline, Mass.) was outstanding in goal, finishing with 14 saves in the setback.

Trailing 13-7 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Babson caught fire and started its comeback attempt when Blake snapped an MIT six-goal surge with 1:23 remaining in the frame. Novitch set up Connolly for back-to-back goals to end the third quarter and open the fourth, cutting the deficit to 13-10 with 10 minutes to go. Blake assisted on another Connolly goal with eight minutes to play and scored one of her own with 6:26 on the clock as Babson pulled to with one goal, and Novitch then fed Connolly for the tying goal with 3:30 left in regulation.

MIT was issued a yellow card with a minute to go in the fourth quarter, but Viens made a stop on Babson's only shot with the player-advantage. The Engineers controlled the ball most of the first three minutes of overtime but a pair of saves by Murphy kept the game deadlocked. The Beavers regained possession on a ground ball by senior Solana Fahey (North Andover, Mass.) and Connolly scored the game-winner on a free-position shot with 1:05 to go in the first overtime.

The first three quarters were a series of runs by both teams. The Beavers opened the game with four straight goals in four minutes, two by Novitch and one each by graduate student Ellie Hilsabeck (Hingham, Mass.) and Blake. The Engineers responded with the next seven goals over the next seven minutes, including two by Thomas and one each by Lam, Flusche, first-year Alexis Reinard (Nottingham, Pa.), junior Gwen Flusche (Ridgewood, N.J.), and Pyon, to pull ahead 7-4.

Babson tied it up at 7-7 on goals by seniors Cameron Rabenold (Cincinnati, Ohio), Michaela Downer (North Andover, Mass.) and Novitch early in the second quarter but MIT closed out the half with goals by junior Nine Petulla (Natick, Mass.) and Julianne Flusche for a 9-7 lead at the break. The Engineers potted the first four goals of the third quarter to take the largest lead of the game, 13-7, late in the third.

The Beavers finished with a 31-28 advantage in shots and an 18-17 margin in ground balls. Draw controls ended up tied at 16-apiece.

Babson returns to action on Friday with a non-conference game at Framingham State at 4:30 p.m. MIT returns home to host Salve Regina in a conference match-up on Saturday at 12 p.m.

GAME NOTES
• Babson has won 10 of the last 12 games against the Engineers and leads MIT 40-6 all-time in a series that dates back to 1988.
• The Beavers have won 28 consecutive games against NEWMAC opponents going back to 2023 and are 77-8 against conference foes as far back as 2016.
• Wednesday's game was Babson's first overtime game since falling 10-9 to Skidmore in the opening game of the 2023 season.
• Connolly has produced 17 goals and 71 draw controls in her last four outings for the Beavers.