No. 5 Men's Soccer vs. Wesleyan
Saturday, September 6 | 11 a.m.
Hartwell-Rogers Field | Babson Park, Mass.

SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 8-6-4 all-time against Wesleyan in a series that dates back to 1980. 
• After not playing for nearly three decades, the Beavers and Cardinals will meet for the third time in a calendar year on Saturday morning.
• The teams met twice last year, including a scoreless tie in Middletown, Conn., on September 7, 2024, and in the NCAA Tournament last November in Babson Park.

LAST MEETING
• Liam Rhatigan '25 scored in the 52nd minute as No. 11 Babson defeated visiting Wesleyan, 1-0, in the NCAA Tournament second round on November 17, 2024, at Hartwell-Rogers Field. 
• Goalkeeper Walker White '25 finished with three saves for the Beavers, who earned their ninth consecutive victory.
• Senior Mathis Blanc stopped five shots in goal in the loss for the Cardinals, who advanced to the NCAA second round for the first time in 13 years. 

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson (1-0-1) earned a win and a tie in the season-opening weekend at Hartwell-Rogers Field a week ago, edging Occidental 2-1 in the debut last Friday before posting a 1-1 draw against UMass Boston on Saturday.
• Junior Alexander Yablonovskiy scored goals in both outings for the Beavers, blasting in a free kick from just outside the box in the 16th minute to open the scoring against Oxy, and converting a penalty kick in the 61st minute to help the Green and White come from behind to tie UMB. First-year Connor Hanrahan also scored his first career goal in the win over Occidental off an assist from junior McKenzy Pierre.
• Yablonovskiy (2-0-4) is tied for second in the NEWMAC this fall in goals and points and Pierre (0-1-1) shares the early lead in assists.
• Senior Derek Polanco (1-0-1, 1.00 GAA) made two saves in each game in the second and third starts of his career.
 
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
• Wesleyan (1-0-0) opened its season with a 3-0 home victory over Western New England on Wednesday afternoon.
• Junior Yousuff Saeed was the star of the game for the Cardinals, scoring a pair of second-half goals after registering an assist on the first-half score. Classmate Joshwin Jennings got things started with the opening marker on a rebound in the 20th minute.
• Blanc, who recorded a 0.84 goals against average with eight shutouts last season, made six saves in the opener to record his first clean sheet of the season and the 14th of his career.
• The Cardinals finished 8-5-5 overall last season and fell to No. 4 Williams in double overtime in the NESCAC Tournament quarterfinals before falling to Babson in the second round of the NCAA Tourney.

BABSON VS. THE NESCAC
• Wesleyan is the first of three NESCAC opponents the Beavers will face this fall. 
• The Green and White will travel to No. 1 Amherst, the defending Division III national champions, on September 23 before visiting 15th-ranked Tufts on September 30. 
• Babson went 1-1-4 versus NESCAC foes last season with a win over Wesleyan, a loss to No. 4 Middlebury, and draws with Wesleyan, No. 25 Amherst, No. 2 Tufts and No. 3 Middlebury.

HOME SWEET HOME
• Babson, which is playing its third game at Hartwell-Rogers Field to open the season, is unbeaten in 22 straight matches (16-0-6) at home since suffering a 2-1 loss to Connecticut College on September 23, 2023. 
• The Beavers are 13-0-3 in their last 16 outings on Hartwell-Rogers dating back to last season.
• Since the start of the 2022 campaign, Babson is 29-2-7 at home. 

POLL POSITION
• Babson, which has secured at least a share of four of the last six NEWMAC regular season titles, claimed seven of nine first-place votes and was picked to repeat when the league released its preseason coaches' poll. 
• Additionally, the Beavers begin the season at No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches poll, which is their highest national ranking since opening the 2011 campaign at No. 14. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Beavers are 18-0-3 since the start of last season when scoring the opening goal of the match. 
• Since the start of the 2022 seasons, the Green and White are 41-1-17 when conceding one goal or fewer. 
• Babson is 13-0 since fall when scoring at least two goals. 
• The Beavers are 11-0-3 in Saturday matches since the beginning of last season. 

UP NEXT
• Babson will make its first road trip of the season on Tuesday with a visit to Gordon for a 7 p.m. match-up.