No. 14 Field Hockey vs. No. 25 Union
NCAA Tournament First Round
Wednesday, November 11 | 3:00 p.m.
MacDowell Field | Babson Park, Mass.

WHAT TO KNOW
• The Babson field hockey team was one of 12 schools to earn the right to host the NCAA Tournament first round and will play least one NCAA home game for the seventh straight season. 
• The winner of Wednesday's game will advance to the NCAA second and third rounds on Saturday and Sunday in Middlebury, Vermont.

SCHEDULE
First Round | Wednesday, November 11
No. 14 Babson (15-6) vs. No. 25 Union (13-6), 3 p.m.

SERIES HISTORY
• Babson has a 7-1 advantage over Union in the all-time series that dates back to 2012.
• The Garnet Chargers took the first game in the series, 5-4, in Babson Park in 2012, and the Beavers have won the last seven between 2013 and 2021.
• The Beavers posted their first win in the series, 1-0, at Union, but had at least a two-goal margin the next six encounter.
• The Green and White are 3-1 against Union at MacDowell Field.

LAST MEETING
• Meara Hanyon '23 scored two goals and 12th-ranked Babson scored three times in the first quarter on the way to defeating visiting Union, 4-0, on September 4, 2021, at MacDowell Field.
• Quinn Greer '22 and Brianne McGrath '23 each had a goal and Lauren Curley '22 chipped in with an assist for the Beavers. Cassidy Riley '22 and Bayla Furmanek '25 were not forced to make a save in the victory.
• Heather Poisson '22 finished with 17 saves for the Dutchwomen, who were outshot 34-0.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 11th
Best NCAA Finish: Semifinals (2016, 2023, 2025)
• No. 14 Babson (15-6) earned its sixth straight NCAA Tournament berth with a 2-1 victory over MIT in the NEWMAC Championship game on Saturday in Cambridge, its fifth consecutive league title.
• Senior Ashley Braren scored the go-ahead goal with 6:12 remaining in the fourth quarter and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Senior Helen DiGiovanni scored the first goal and first-year Kate Schneider registered an assist for the Beavers, who outshot the hosts 20-3.
• Junior Penny Baroni (23-9-55) and DiGiovanni (17-1-35) are 1-2 in the NEWMAC in goals, first and third in points, and tied for second in game-winning goals. Senior Grace Mullaney (4-12-20) leads the NEWMAC in assists and Baroni, senior Emma Smith (3-9-15) and junior Taylor Shoflick (0-9-9) are all tied for third. The Beavers, who outscored their opponents this fall 80-19, have also gotten offensive production from Schneider (10-4-24), Braren (7-0-14), and junior Lauren Golden (4-4-12).
• Sophomore Madison Tibbals (1.09 GAA, 34 svs) is second the NEWMAC in goals against average, first-year Carly Spinner (0.38 GAA, 3 svs) has allowed just two goals in 11 appearances, and the duo have combined for 11 shutouts.

SCOUTING THE GARNET CHARGERS
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 1st
• No. 25 Union (13-6) earned its first NCAA Tournament appearance with a 4-2 victory over No. 20 Rensselaer in the Liberty League Championship game on Sunday in Troy, N.Y.
• Junior Rowan Dapson had two goals and an assist for a career-high five points to earn Tournament Most Valuable Player honors for the Garnet Chargers. Sophomore Lily Durivage had a goal and an assist, senior Amy Vytopilova scored as well, and senior Maddie Greco had a pair of assists in the victory. Junior goalie Tess Parker made six saves and first-year Nadia Michienzi added a defensive save to lead another strong defensive effort.
• Greco (11-8-30) and Vytopilova (11-3-25) share the team goal-scoring lead and Greco trails only first-year Caroline Ranucci (4-9-17) in the assist department. Dapson (7-5-19) and senior Rachel Ostiiguy (7-1-15) are tied for third on the team in goals for Union, which outscored its opponents 55-47 on the season.
• Parker (2.30 GAA, 65 saves) has started 13 of Union's 19 games, including the last seven, posting an 8-4 record. Senior Marion Stuntz (2.43 GAA, 21 saves) and first-year Ellie Skolnekovich (3.15 GAA, 11 saves) have combined to go 5-2 as the Garnet Chargers posted four shutouts on the season.

NCAA POSTSEASON HISTORY
• Babson has made nine of its 11 NCAA Tournament appearances since 2016 and advanced to the quarterfinals five times (2016, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025).
• The Beavers knocked off No. 16 Bowdoin (2-1) and No. 7 Wesleyan (1-0) last year before a dramatic 2-1 double overtime loss to No. 2 Johns Hopkins in the semifinals in Hartford, Conn.
• The Green and White also made national semifinal appearances in 2016 and 2023, posting victories over St. John Fisher (3-0) and No. 8 Franklin & Marshall (1-0) before a 5-2 loss to No. 1 Messiah in 2016, and defeating No. 7 Bates (1-0 OT) and No. 10 Tufts (1-0) before falling to No. 1 Middlebury (3-0) in 2023.
• Entering this week, Babson has had home-field advantage in 15 of its 22 NCAA Tournament contests, going 12-3 at MacDowell Field.

NCAA TOURNAMENT TESTED
• Braren is the most experienced active Beaver in NCAA Tournaments, having played in eight games over the past three seasons, while Mullaney is the leading active scorer with two goals and one assist in three NCAA Tournament appearances for the Beavers.
• DiGiovanni, Baroni and Golden have seen action in five career NCAA Tournament games and junior Charlotte Roe has appeared in four NCAA games.
• Smith, Shoflick and sophomore Anna Bonazzoli have played in three NCAA Tourney games, and sophomore Kayla Rice saw action in two games last year. Tibbals made three appearances in goal last season, going 2-1 with a 0.92 goals against average and a 0.85 save percentage.

FIVE BEAVERS EARN ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
• Baroni was named the NEWMAC Athlete of the Year and was joined by four teammates when the NEWMAC announced its postseason awards on Tuesday.
• Baroni, the 2024 NEWMAC Rookie of the Year, earned First Team honors for the second year in a row, while DiGiovanni, Mullaney, and first-year Julia Krepelka made their first appearance on the first team and Shoflick earned second team accolades for the second year in a row.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
• Babson is 8-1 at home this season and is 22-1 at MacDowell Field since the start of last year.
• The Beavers are 47-2 on home turf since the beginning of the 2023 season.
• The Green and White have outscored the opponents 45-2 over the last eight home games.

DOMINATING WITH DEFENSE
• Led by Krepelka, Smith, Golden and Bonazzoli, the Beaver defense is ranked 12th in Division III with a 0.90 team goals against average and have posted 11 shutouts, which is tied for third-most in Division III.
• The Green and White have conceded one or no goals in 17 of their 21 games, going 15-2 in those 17 wins.
• Babson has allowed five or fewer shots on goal in 18 of 21 outings this season, and conceded one or zero shots on goal 11 times.

RED HOT BEAVERS
• Baroni notched four consecutive hat tricks from October 20-31, totaling 13 goals and four assists in that span.
• DiGiovanni has eight goals in her last eight games, including a goal in the NEWMAC Championship game and a six-game goal scoring streak from October 15-31.
• Mullaney had a seven-game points streak with 12 points in those seven games broken in the NEWMAC final.
• Schneider has tallied three goals and four assists in her last four outings.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
• Baroni has moved up on Babson's single-season records list and now ranks sixth with 23 goals and fifth with 55 points.
• Mullaney is tied for 12th in program history with 12 assists in a season and DiGiovanni moved up to a tie for 21st with 16 goals in a season.
• With career totals of 39 goals, 17 assists and 95 points, Baroni is tied for 13th in goals and 15th in points on Babson's all-time scoring lists.

BEAVER BITES
• The Green and White have outscored their opponents 41-2 in the current seven-game winning streak.
• The Babson seniors have achieved remarkable success, producing an overall record of 77-14 with three NEWMAC regular season and four tournament championships, four NCAA Tournament appearances and Division III Final Four berths in 2023 and 2025.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Green and White are 15-0 this fall and 31-0 since the start of last season when scoring first.
• The Beavers have outscored their opponents 18-2 in the first quarter this fall and have conceded just three goals in the opening stanza over their last 27 games going back to November of last season. 
• Babson is 14-0 this season and has won 98 straight games going back to 2021 when leading at halftime.