BABSON PARK, Mass.—Sophomore goalie Pauline Vien (Brookline, Mass.) made 13 saves and a stifling defense limited Babson to 11 goals below its season average as second-seeded MIT defeated the top-seeded Beavers, 16-6, to capture the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's lacrosse tournament championship on Saturday afternoon at MacDowell Field.

Babson, ranked 14th by the IWLCA and 13th by USA Lacrosse Magazine, had its 11-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 14-3 on the season. MIT, which lost to Babson in the last two conference tournament finals, won its seventh game in a row to improve to 13-7, and captured its second NEWMAC Championship and first since 2015.

MIT receives the NEWMAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament while Babson is in a strong position to receive an at-large berth. The tournament field will be announced on the women's lacrosse selection show on Monday at 10:30 a.m. on ncaa.com.

Senior Clare Connolly (Hanover, Mass.) tallied three goals and grabbed four draw controls to lead the Beavers, classmate Kathryn Blake (Medfield, Mass.) scored twice and fellow senior Jessica Evans (Southbury, Conn.) added one goal, two caused turnovers and a team-high three ground balls. Senior Kathleen Murphy (Scarborough, Maine) finished with six saves in goal in the loss.

Vien, who was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, added three ground balls to her 13 saves, seven of which came in the second quarter when MIT outscored the Beavers 5-1 to open up a 9-4 lead.

Junior Ashley Thomas (Summit, N.J.) led the Engineers' offense with three goals and three assists, senior Sydney Pyon (Garnet Valley, Pa.) and first-year Alexis Reinard (Nottingham, Pa.) added three goals and an assist apiece. Senior Julianne Flusche (Ridgewood, N.J.) and juniors Gwen Flusche (Ridgewood, N.J.) and Annica Lam (Livingston, N.J.) chipped in with two goals each, and Julianne (5) and Gwen (4) Flusche combined for nine draw controls.

After Pyon opened the scoring for MIT, Blake and Connolly ripped back-to-back goals to give the Beavers their only lead of the day with seven minutes to go in the opening stanza. The Engineers ran off three in a row, one each by sophomore Jillian Butler (Brecksville, Ohio), Lam and Reinard to take a 4-2 lead, and Blake scored again for Babson to cut the margin to one goal heading into the second quarter.

Reinard and Thomas produced goals just 46 seconds apart early in the second frame to extend the MIT lead to 6-3. Evans scored for Babson on a free-position shot with 8:52 on the clock, but MIT fired in the last three goals in the period, one by Lam and two by Julianne Flusche in the final minute off assists by junior Nina Petulla (Natick, Mass.) and Pyon, as the Engineers took a 9-4 lead into the intermission.

The third quarter was all MIT and the visitors outscored the two-time defending champions 5-0 to open up a 14-4 margin. Thomas scored twice in the frame, Reinard had a goal and an assist, and Gwen Flusche and Pyon got into the scoring act.

Connolly scored for Babson early in the fourth quarter to drop the margin down to 14-5, but Pyon restored the double-digit lead less than two minutes later and Gwen Flusche finished off the MIT scoring with 6:33 to go. Connolly tacked on a late goal to round out the scoring.

MIT finished with a 36-27 advantage in shots. Ground balls were tied 15-15 and draw controls were even at 12-apiece.

GAME NOTES
• Babson lost to MIT for just the third time in the last 13 meetings, but the Beavers are 40-7 all-time against the Engineers in a series that dates back to 1988.
• The MIT win was the first in 13 career NEWMAC playoff games against Babson.
• The outcome snapped Babson 32-game winning streak against NEWMAC opponents, dating back to a 17-8 loss to MIT on March 25, 2023.
• The six Babson goals matched the season-low recorded in a 17-6 loss to No. 1 Middlebury in the season opener back on March 4.