BABSON PARK, Mass.— Junior Ben Brown (Concord, Mass.) scored his first career goal late in the first half and a strong defense by No. 18 Tufts limited host Babson College to just four second-half shots as the Jumbos held off the Beavers, 1-0, in non-conference men's soccer action Tuesday afternoon at Hartwell-Rogers Field.

With the victory, Tufts extended its unbeaten streak to seven games and improved to 6-1-2 overall, while the Beavers suffered their fourth setback in the last five outings and fell to 5-4-2 on the season.

Sophomore JB Montague (Lutz, Fla.) finished with five saves in goal for the Beavers, including one on a penalty kick, and first-year Connor Hanrahan (Warrenville, Ill.) managed a pair of shots in the loss.

First-year Gianluca Fallone (Rochester, N.Y.) registered an assist on the goal for Tufts, and senior Nikola Antic (Waltham, Mass.) earned the shutout with help from key defenders Brown and first-year Alex Johnson (Kinnelon, N.J.).

The teams spent much of the first half in the Babson half of the field, with Tufts taking all nine shots in the opening 45 minutes. The visitors nearly got on the board in the 17th minute when a bicycle kick by senior Mateo Bargagna (Atlanta, Ga) from 10 yards out was sent towards the right side of the goal before Babson first-year defender Huey Miller (Gill, Mass.) cleared the ball off the goal line with a header to keep the game scoreless.

Tufts had another golden opportunity in the 41st minute when junior Henry Brown (Winter Park, Fla.) was awarded a penalty kick, but Montague dove to his left and deflected the ball up and over the cross bar.

Just 45 seconds later, the Jumbos broke through as Fallone, who had just entered the game after the PK, sent a loose ball from the left side of the box across the crease, and Ben Brown redirected the ball out of the air inside the right post to break the deadlock with 3:38 remaining on the first-half clock.

The Beavers came alive after the break and had several offensive opportunities. Junior Alexander Yablonovskiy (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) was wide left on a header in the 51st minute and Hanrahan was just wide right in the 59th minute. Babson's best chance to score came in the 69th minute but a shot by first-year Adam Stetson (Granby, Mass.) hit the crossbar.

The Jumbos nearly added an insurance goal in the 83rd minute but a clean look by sophomore Ellis Denby (North Andover, Mass.) was wide left.

Tufts finished with a 16-4 advantage in shots and took all six corner kicks in the match.

Both teams return to conference action on Saturday as Babson plays at home against Clark at 1 p.m. and Tufts visits Trinity at 2:30 p.m.

GAME NOTES
• Babson is 9-11-3 all-time against Tufts in a series that dates back to 1965.
• The teams have combined for a total of just four goals in the last five meetings going back to 2021, including two 1-0 scores, a 1-1 tie and a pair of scoreless draws.
• The Green and White finish the season 1-2-0 against the NESCAC with a win over Wesleyan and losses to No. 13 Amherst and No. 18 Tufts, all one-goal games.
• The Beavers lost for just the second time in 32 games (22-2-8) dating back to the start of last season when conceding one goal or fewer.