BABSON PARK, Mass.—Babson women's lacrosse seniors
Clare Connolly (Hanover, Mass.) and
Jessica Evans (Southbury, Conn.) received Division III All-America honors from USA Lacrosse Magazine on Wednesday afternoon.
Connolly was recognized for the second consecutive season and became the Beavers' first All-America first-team selection since Anna Collins '10 in 2010, while Evans garnered an honorable mention for the first time in her career.
Connolly, who was selected as the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Player of the Year last week, set new career highs with 59 goals and four assists for 63 points to go along with a single-season program record 243 draw controls in 19 starts this spring. She produced three or more goals in 11 contests, recorded a .602 shooting percentage and secured at least 10 draw controls on 10 occasions.
Additionally, Connolly ranked second in Division III with a career-best 12.17 draw controls per game.
Connolly is the all-time Division III leader and ranks second in NCAA history with 766 draw controls, while scoring 117 goals and contributing 11 assists for 128 points in 78 career games. She was the NCAA statistical champion for draw controls in both 2023 and 2024, and is the only player in Division III history to win 200 or more draws in three consecutive seasons.
A do-it-all midfielder, Evans earned her first All-America award after producing 29 goals and 10 assists for 39 points and setting new career highs with 33 ground balls and 18 caused turnovers. She produced eight multi-goal games and was second on the team in free-position goals (11), ground balls and caused turnovers. Additionally, Evans was third on the squad with 30 draw controls.
A three-year starter, Evans finished her career with 107 goals and 36 assists for 143 points to go along with 132 draw controls, 94 ground balls and 46 caused turnovers in 79 career games.
Babson, which went unbeaten in NEWMAC regular season play for the second year in a row, earned its third consecutive NEWMAC Tournament bid and finished the year with a record of 15-4 after advancing to the second round.
