MIDDLETOWN, Conn.—Senior Sam DeLeo (Brewster, N.Y.) and junior Dylan Green (Pittsburgh, Pa.) combined for seven goals and five assists as No. 6 Wesleyan University built a 15-3 lead on the way to a 15-9 victory over No. 16 Babson College in an NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Tournament second round game Sunday afternoon at Smith Field.

With the win, Wesleyan improves to 14-5 and advances to a regional semifinal against Rowan next Saturday. Babson, which was playing in the NCAA Tournament second round for the third straight season, ends the year at 15-4.

Senior Amelia Novitch (Dover, Mass.) led the Beaver offense with two goals and an assist, classmates Kathryn Blake (Medfield, Mass.) and Jessica Evans (Southbury, Conn.) scored two goals each and fellow senior Clare Connolly (Hanover, Mass.) tallied a goal, an assist and a game-high eight draw controls. Senior Cameron Rabenold (Cincinnati, Ohio) and junior Lilly Bedard (Jupiter, Fla.) scored once each, and senior Nora Lema (Duxbury, Mass.) picked up an assist.

Sophomore Claire Jones (Sudbury, Mass.) led the Babson defense with two caused turnovers and a team-high four ground balls. Senior Kathleen Murphy (Scarborough, Maine) and sophomore Morgan McGahan (Ho Ho Kus, N.J.) made three and six saves, respectively, in the Beaver goal in the setback.

DeLeo registered a career-high seven points on three goals and four assists while Green finished with four goals, an assist, and a team-high four draw controls. Senior Kiara Tangney (Reading, Mass.) scored three goals, sophomore Mya Waryas (Foxboro, Mass.) added a pair and junior Elle Priesing (Scotch Plains, N.J.) chipped in with a goal and an assist. First-year Madeline Johnson (Brielle, N.J.) caused four turnovers, DeLeo and junior Lilly Stoller (Wayland, Mass.) collected three ground balls each, and junior Izzy Weintraub (Oceanside, N.Y.) and sophomore April Rowe (Warwick, R.I.) made six and three saves, respectively, in the victory.

Connolly opened the scoring with her team-high 59th goal of the season just over two minutes after the opening whistle before Green tied it up just 39 seconds later. Priesing gave the Cardinals their first lead less than a minute later, but Rabenold fired in a player-up goal for Babson with 8:11 on the clock to even the score at 2-2.

The Cardinals took over and outscored the Beavers 9-0 over the next 18 minutes. Tangney scored twice and junior Addie Cummings (Westfield, N.J.) added one as Wesleyan led 5-2 at the end of the first quarter, and six consecutive goals by the hosts to start the second frame extended the lead to 11-2. Green and DeLeo each had two goals in the surge and Waryas and Tangney had one each.

Novitch stopped the bleeding with a player-up goal for Babson with 3:36 to go in the second quarter, but Wesleyan tallied the next four goals, one by DeLeo to end the half, and markers by Waryas, Green and junior Kyra Browne (East Atlantic Beach, N.Y.) to start the third stanza as the lead swelled to 15-3 with less than 18 minutes left in the game.

Babson did not give up, and Blake tallied goals late in the third period and early in the fourth to gain some momentum. Evans, Novitch and Bedard scored three goals in a 92-second span to cut the deficit to 15-8 with 11:31 to play, and Evans added a player-up goal with 8:51 to go, but that's as far as the comeback went and Wesleyan held on for the win.

The Cardinals had a 29-21 advantage in shots and a slim 15-13 in draw controls while the Beavers had a 19-17 lead in ground balls. Babson was 4-for-7 on free-position shots while Wesleyan was 3-for-8.

GAME NOTES
• Babson has lost eight in a row to Wesleyan since 2015 and is now 6-13 all-time against the Cardinals in a series that dates back to 1994.
• The Beavers are 3-3 in NCAA Tournament games over the past three seasons and have won their first NCAA game the last three years and eight of their 11 appearances going back to 2007.
• The Green and White suffered their first loss in 12 games this spring and 25 contests over the past two seasons when recording more ground balls than their opponents.
• Connolly, who ended the season with a team-high 13-game scoring streak, finishes her career with a Division III record 766 draw controls, just 15 shy of the all-time NCAA record of 791 set by Maddie Jenner of Duke from 2019-23.