BABSON PARK, Mass.— Sophomore
Sarah Hogan (South Glastonbury, Conn.) scored her first career goal in the 68th minute but Babson College conceded a late equalizer and settled for a 1-1 draw with visiting Smith College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's soccer action on Wednesday afternoon at Hartwell-Rogers Field.
Babson, which has lost just one conference game this fall, is now 6-6-4 overall and 3-1-4 in the NEWMAC. Smith picked up its second conference point of the season, moving to 0-11-3 overall and 0-6-2 in conference play.
Senior
Priscilla-Rose Men-Martin (Rolling Hills Estate, Calif.) registered an assist on the Babson goal, and classmate
Callahan Cottone (Medway, Mass.) made three saves in goal in the deadlock.
Senior Una Keller (Davis, Calif.) scored the tying goal for Smith in the 89th minute and classmate Riley Branford (Cleveland, Ohio) recorded an assist. First-year Riley Cioffi-Smith (North Branford, Conn.) kept the Bears in the game and finished with a season-high 13 saves.
Babson carried the possession battle much of the first half but was unable to generate very many scoring opportunities, outshooting the visitors 8-3 in the opening 45 minutes. The best chance for the Beavers came in the 43rd minute but Cioffi-Smith dove to her left to corral a shot from 25 yards out by sophomore
Autumn Simon (Sharon, Mass.).
The energy rose in the second half with both teams producing more scoring opportunities. Junior
Josie Lee (Duxbury, Mass.) put a strong shot on goal for Babson from 20 yards out in the 54th minute that was denied by Cioffi-Smith, and a minute later sophomore Jenna Marsh (Barnstable, Mass.) had a good shot for Smith from the top of the 18-yard box stopped by Cottone.
Lee had another shot from the right side in the 60th minute punched away by Cioffi-Smith. The Beavers nearly converted a corner kick in the 65th minute but a header by senior
Claudia Baiter (Miami, Fla.) from point blank range was deflected over the crossbar by Cioffi-Smith.
The Beavers finally broke through in the 68th minute. Men-Martin worked her way down the right side through the Smith defense and made a give-and-go play with junior
Lillian McAughan (Bellevue, Wash.) before putting a low shot on goal from inside the box. Cioffi-Smith went down and made the save, but Hogan pounced on the rebound and tapped the ball into the empty net to put the Beavers on the scoreboard.
Babson had a couple of chances at an insurance goal but could not convert. Men-Martin had her shot in the 73rd minute caught by Cioffi-Smith, and a good attempt by senior
Olga Metelkine (Marlboro, N.J.) moments later went wide right. Cioffi-Smith punched a shot by Hogan out of harm's way, and caught another attempt by Men-Martin to keep it a one-goal game.
Smith kept pressing, trying to find an equalizer, as Marsh had a good attempt saved by Cottone with three minutes remaining. The Bears earned a corner kick with a minute and a half remaining and capitalized. First-year Keala Barnes (Las Vegas, Nev.) served the corner into the box, and a header by Branford was blocked by a Babson defender, but Keller buried the rebound to tie the game with just 1:06 remaining.
Metelkine had one last chance for Babson with a shot in the final 10 seconds, but Cioffi-Smith was there for the save to preserve the draw.
Babson finished with a 27-9 advantage in total shots and a 14-4 margin in shots on goal. The Beavers also had an 8-2 lead in corner kicks.
Both teams have conference home games on Saturday as the Green and White host Wheaton at 1 p.m. and Smith entertains Salve Regina at 12 p.m.
GAME NOTES
• Babson had won the previous six matches against the Bears and now owns a 29-19-5 record all-time against Smith in a series that dates back to 1982.
• Hogan became the 13th different player to score this season for the Beavers, who have 28 goals in their 16 matches.
• Babson is 11-3-2 at Hartwell-Rogers Field versus NEWMAC foes going back to October 12, 2024.
