No. 14 Women's Lacrosse vs. Worcester State
NCAA Tournament First Round
Saturday, May 10 | 1:00 p.m.
Smith Field | Middletown, Conn.

WHAT TO KNOW
• No. 14 Babson earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament and will make its third straight appearance and 11th overall on Saturday in Middletown, Conn.
• The Beavers will take Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) champion Worcester State on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Smith Field on the campus of Wesleyan University.

SCHEDULE
First Round | Saturday, May 10
Babson (14-3) vs. Worcester State (13-6), 1:00 p.m.
Second Round | Sunday, May 11
First round winner vs. No. 6 Wesleyan (13-5), 1:00 p.m. 

SERIES HISTORY
• Babson and Worcester State will be meeting for the first time in women's lacrosse.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 11th
Best NCAA Finish: Round of 16 (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2024)
• Babson (14-3, 10-0 NEWMAC), ranked 14th in Division III by the IWLCA, had its 11-game winning streak snapped in a 16-6 loss to MIT Saturday in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) title game at MacDowell Field.
• Senior Clare Connolly tallied three goals and grabbed four draw controls to lead the Beavers, classmate Kathryn Blake scored twice and fellow senior Jessica Evans added one goal, two caused turnovers and a team-high three ground balls. Senior Kathleen Murphy finished with six saves in goal in the loss.
• The Beavers feature a balanced offensive attack led by senior Amelia Novitch (34-35-69) and Blake (46-21-67). Connolly (52-2-54) leads the team in goals and ranks second in Division III in draw controls (211). Graduate student Ellie Hilsabeck (29-10-39), Evans (25-9-34) and senior Michaela Downer (23-8-31) give the Green and White six players with at least 23 goals and 31 points.
• Graduate student Eileen Manning (23 caused turnovers) leads a defense that has allowed just 8.6 goals per game. Murphy has a 9.00 goals against average and career-best .485 save percentage with 112 saves, 30 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers between the pipes.

SCOUTING THE LANCERS
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 1st
• Worcester State (13-6, 5-1 MASCAC) claimed its first MASCAC championship in program history on Saturday with a 13-11 victory over Framingham State at Coughlin Field in Worcester.
• Senior Hannah Erickson scored five goals, junior Molly Kitkowski added three scores, and senior Abbie Wing contributed a goal and four assists to lead the Lancers. Junior Mckayla Fisher (6) and sophomore Kerry Brown (5) combined for 11 draw controls, Brown (6) and Fisher (5) were the team leaders in ground balls, and senior Olivia LaValle made 10 saves in goal in the victory.
• Witkowski (48-38-86) ranks second in the MASCAC in scoring and Wing (56-14-70) is third in the conference in goals and sixth in points. Erickson (45-7-52) in third on the team in goals and Brown (22-22-44), Fisher (34-9-4-3), and juniors Abigail Vincent (32-10-42), and Shannon Donahue (32-10-42) give the Lancers six players with at least 22 goals and 41 points. Fisher had a team-high 95 draw controls and sophomore Madigan Kelley (69) and Brown (63) are strong on the draw as well.
• Fisher (30) and senior Ava Gesner (26) top the defense in caused turnovers. LaValle has a 10.64 goals against average and a .511 save percentage with 170 saves in 18 starts between the pipes.

DÉJÀ VU FOR THE MASCAC
• Babson will take on the MASCAC champion in the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons after the Beavers defeated Westfield State, 23-8, on May 13, 2023 at Alfond Field in Waterville, Maine.
• Emily Curtis M'23 finished with career highs of eight goals, five assists and 13 points for Babson. Claudia Dodge '23 scored four times, Erin Jayne '23 had three goals and Evans contributed two goals and two assists for the Beavers. Connolly and Blake both scored twice and Connolly led all players with 14 draw controls while Murphy made six saves in the victory.

LAST YEAR'S NCAA APPEARANCE FOR THE BEAVERS
• After receiving a first-round bye, No. 15 Babson held off a second half rally to defeat No. 14 Stevens Institute of Technology, 11-9, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on May 12, 2024 at Springfield College's Stagg Field.
• Lily Ives M'24 and Evans scored three goals apiece and Murphy made 14 saves in the win. Novitch scored two goals, Blake added a goal and two assists, and Nicole Darveau '24 and Michaela Downer scored once each for the Green and White, while Connolly grabbed five draw controls.
• Babson had its five-game winning streak snapped in a 15-10 regional semifinal lost to No. 5 Salisbury. Novitch scored three goals to lead the Beavers while Ives tallied a goal and two assists. Connolly, Evans and Blake notched two goals apiece and Connolly collected a game-high 10 draw controls.  

NCAA POSTSEASON HISTORY
• After making five straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2007-11, the Beavers have competed in five of the last seven tournaments since 2017, compiling an aggregate record of 7-10 in 10 visits to the national tourney.
• The Beavers are 6-2 all-time in NCAA first-round contests, with wins over Trinity in 2008, Farmingdale State in 2009, Williams in 2010, Johnson & Wales in 2017, Castleton in 2018 and Westfield State in 2023.

NINE BEAVERS EARN ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
• Connolly was selected as the NEWMAC Offensive Player of the Year and Michelle Smith and her three assistants were honored as the Coaching Staff of the Year when the NEWMAC announced its postseason awards on Wednesday.
• Connolly was joined on the All-NEWMAC First Team by Manning, Murphy, Evans, Novitch, and sophomore Claire Jones, while Blake, senior Solana Fahey and sophomore Lyndsey Newsome earned Second Team honors.

LIFE ON THE ROAD
• Babson is 8-2 in road games this season and 27-10 away from home since the start of the 2022 season.

SENIOR MILESTONES
• Four Babson seniors have scored their 100th career goal this season, including Blake (113), Novitch (111), Connolly (110) and Evans (103), giving the program 23 100-goal scorers
• Novitch (71) has moved up to fifth on the career assist mark, and Blake (56) is 11th.
• Murphy owns the program records for victories with a 57-20 mark and minutes with 4152, and ranks fourth in saves (507). She currently ranks in the top-six all-time with a 9.29 goals against average and a .441 save percentage.

POST-SEASON NUMBERS
• Evans has recorded 32 points (26g, 6a) in 10 post-season games over the last three seasons, while Novitch has 23 points (17g, 6a) and Blake has 19 points (15g, 4a) in those 10 games.
• Connolly has collected 91 draw controls in 10 post-season games the past three years, and Manning has accumulated 16 caused turnovers and 22 ground balls over 12 career playoff games.
• Murphy has an 8-4 career record in 12 postseason starts with a 10.88 goals against average and a .428 save percentage.

BEAVER BITES
• Novitch has eight multi-goal performances in her last 10 games, totaling 12 games this season with at least two goals.
• Blake has scored at least two goals in 16 of her 17 games this spring, with a season-high five goals against both Coast Guard and Wellesley.
• Connolly has a team-high 11-game scoring streak, with multiple goals in 10 of those games.
• The Division III all-time leader in draw controls, Connolly has moved up to second all-time in all divisions with 734, trailing only Maddie Jenner of Duke (791 from 2019-23).

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• Babson is 12-0 this season and 27-0 over the past two seasons when leading at halftime.
• The Beavers are 14-0 this season and 40-1 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 Saturday's game will No. 6 Wesleyan on Sunday in a second-round game at 1:00 p.m. in Middletown, Conn.