Men's Lacrosse vs. Wentworth
Saturday, February 14 | 1:00 p.m.
MacDowell Field | Babson Park, Mass.

SERIES HISTORY
• Babson has won all nine games against Wentworth in a series that dates back to 1997, including all five at MacDowell Field.
• Saturday's game will be the first in the series since 2010 and just the second since the two teams met in the ECAC Tournament quarterfinals in 2004.
• The Beavers won four of the previous games by double digits and six by at least six goals. 

LAST MEETING
• Armand Wilson scored three goals and TJ Mallon tallied two goals and two assists to lead Babson to a 12-4 victory over Wentworth on March 3, 2010, at MacDowell Field.
• Tom Cykana and Max Artz added two goals and one assist each and Paul Grip chipped in with a pair of goals for the Beavers. Christian Ebert scooped up 11 ground balls and Mike Saucier made eight saves in goal in the first career win for Babson first-year head coach Brendan Gorman.
• Mark Pappas scored two goals to lead the Leopards. Mike Swenson won 13-of-18 face-offs and collected 13 ground balls, and three goalies combined for 13 saves in the setback.

A LOOK BACK ON 2025
• Head coach Rocky Batty, now in his eighth season at Babson, guided the Beavers to another outstanding campaign last spring that included to third consecutive NEWMAC tournament championship and winning their first game in their third straight NCAA Tournament.
• The Green and White recorded victories over MIT and top-seeded Springfield to claim the conference tournament title and earned a home game in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, rolling past Western Connecticut before falling to No. 5 Wesleyan in the second round to end the year at 14-6. 
• Babson made its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last five seasons in 2025 after competing in just one NCAA Tournament (1979) in the first 50 years of the program.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson (0-0) returns 39 players, including one All-New England and three All-Conference selections, from a team that finished 14-6 overall and 5-2 in the NEWMAC. 
• The Beavers return their top four scorers from last season, led by junior Seamus Rooney (35-28-63), a preseason All-America by USA Lacrosse Magazine and All-New England attackman last year. Junior Camden Matthews (36-11-47) topped the team in goals and classmate Sam Sisk (22-15-37) and senior Bennett Smith (19-15-34), a two-time All-Conference selection, both surpassed the 30-point mark.
• Senior face-off specialist Will Reading earned All-Conference second team honors after winning a NEWMAC-high 218 face-offs (.546) and finishing second with 104 ground balls. Junior Ryan St. Onge (16 CT, 21 GB) and senior Sam Erjavac (8 CT, 14 GB) are top returning defenders for the Green and White, who led the league in team goals against average (9.40).
• Sophomore Andrew Almquist (11.94 GAA, .615 sv. pct) is the top returning goalie after seeing action in 19 games (125 minutes) as a rookie last season.

SCOUTING THE LEOPARDS
• Wentworth (1-0) opened the season with a 14-8 victory over Emerson on Wednesday on Sweeney Field in Boston.
• Sophomore Tony Corrado scored four goals and added and an assist as part of a balanced offensive attack. Senior Jake Caraluzzi and junior Brenda Kroll tallied two goals and two assists each, senior Tyler Longo scored three goals, and junior Gabe Copham notched two goals and one assist. Sophomore Keegan Buffa won 14 of 21 face-offs and scooped up six ground balls, and sophomore A.J. Smith made nine saves in the victory.
• Longo (21-44-65) finished second in the CNE in assists and fourth in points. Cobham (29-15-44) and Kroll (33-10-43), a third team All-Conference attacker, enjoyed strong offensive campaigns. Junior Kyle Leger (25 CT, 46 GB) was a first-team All-CNE defender and seniors Dante Strong (21 CT, 38 GB) and Trevor Guilmette (21 CT, 19 GB) are also returning starters on defense.
• Wentworth is coming off its most successful season in program history, finishing 14-5 overall, 6-2 in the Conference of New England, and advancing to its first CNE title game. The Leopards had a program-record eight All-Conference selections and head coach Dan Russo was named CNE Coach of the Year.

BEAVERS PICKED TO FOUR-PEAT BY NEWMAC COACHES
• Three-time defending champion Babson was picked to finish first when the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) announced its preseason coaches' poll last week. 
• The Beavers received seven first-place votes to finish ahead of last year's runner-up Springfield, while MIT, Salve Regina and Coast Guard rounded out the top five. 

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA
• Rooney, who led the Beavers in scoring last spring, was named a preseason All-America honorable mention from USA Lacrosse Magazine two weeks ago.
• The Beaver junior, who was an NEILA All-New England pick last season, a two-time All-NEWMAC selection, and the 2024 NEWMAC Rookie of the Year, has tallied 66 goals and 39 assists for 105 points in his first two seasons of college play.

HITTING THE TRANSFER PORTAL
• The Beavers will have a number of graduate students and transfers in the line-up this spring.
• The top newcomers include attacker/midfielders Joey Allen (Washington & Lee) and Patrick McAleavey (Providence), defenders Hugh Curran (Trinity), Mason Dorr (Vermont) and Ellis McDonald (Ohio State), and face-off specialist Beau Burns (Bowdoin).

LEGACY OF 79
• Bennett Smith will don the No. 79 jersey for the second straight year for the Beavers, a tradition which was introduced prior to head coach Rocky Batty's first season. It honors the legacy of the 1979 squad, which reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history and was the only team to qualify from 1967-2021.
• Niall Dillon '19 earned the jersey for his senior campaign 2019 before Lee Sipes '21 M'22 wore No. 79 from 2020-22, followed by Ford Carney '24 in 2023-24 and Smith last season.

BEAVER BITES
• Rooney enters the season riding a 20-game points streak, which includes a point every game last spring.
• Matthews has scored at least one goal in his last five games and hit the back of the net in 16 of his 20 outings last season. 
• Smith opened last season with a 12-game point streak and had points in 17 of his 20 games, including five points (4g, 1a) in the NCAA Tournament win over Western Connecticut.

BABSON, WENTWORTH COACHES JOIN IMLCA IN HONORING LIAM GLEASON
•    Babson head coach Rocky Batty and Wentworth head coach Dan Russo will join coaches from across the country will wear pins on the sidelines to honor Liam Gleason, the Siena head men's lacrosse coach who tragically passed away at just 41 back in December. 
•    The initiative, which is spearheaded by the IMLCA, aligns with Siena's home opener and will highlight organ donation, a cause that Liam championed. In his final act of generosity, Liam saved the lives of four people and enhanced the lives of several others through the gift of organ donation. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Beavers went 10-1 at MacDowell Field last spring after going 9-0 in 2024 and are 26-3 at home since the start of the 2023 season.
• Babson was 11-2 last season and are 25-2 over the past two seasons when leading at halftime.
• The Green and White were 14-0 last season when scoring at least 10 goals.
• The Beavers finished 10-2 in 2025 and are 25-3 over the past two seasons when winning at least half the face-offs. 
• The Green and White went 11-3 last year and are 25-4 since 2024 when recording at least eight caused turnovers.

UP NEXT
• Babson will travel to Schenectady, N.Y. on Saturday, February 21, for a contest at Union at 1 p.m.