CAMBRIDGE, Mass.— Graduate student Joey Allen (Philadelphia, Pa.) and junior Camden Matthews (Westford, Mass.) combined for five goals and three assists, sophomore Andrew Almquist (Wakefield, Mass.) made 14 saves and No. 5/9 Babson College scored six unanswered goals in the third and fourth quarters to defeat MIT, 12-8, and secure the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's lacrosse regular season title Saturday afternoon at Roberts Field.

With its sixth win in its last seven games, Babson completes the regular season with a 14-2 overall record and a perfect 7-0 conference mark. The Beavers earn their third NEWMAC regular season title in the last four years and will be the top seed in next week's conference tournament. MIT heads into the postseason with an 8-7 overall record and a 5-2 conference mark.

Allen finished with two goals and three assists, Matthews scored three times, and senior Jack Feeks (Georgetown, Mass.) tallied two goals and an assist. Senior Bennett Smith (Lake Oswego, Ore.) and junior Seamus Rooney (Bay Shore, N.Y.) chipped in with a goal and an assist each, senior Tyee Ambrosh (Danvers, Mass.) had two caused turnovers and three ground balls, and Almquist added four ground balls to his 12th double-digit save performance this season.

The Engineers had a balanced scoring attack as seniors Oscar Lindenthal (Vero Beach, Fla.) and Bryce Metalios (Old Greenwich, Conn.) each scored two goals, senior Zach Bleil (New Canaan, Conn.) had a goal and two assists, and sophomore Riley Pierce (Vestavia, Ala.) produced four assists. First-years Kaden Fenno (San Antonio, Texas) and Mason Prettyman (Pittsburgh, Pa.) combined to win 13 of 24 face-offs, and senior Collin Lung (Lynbrook, N.Y.) made 13 saves in goal in the setback.

The Beavers took a 2-0 lead in the first quarter on goals by Allen and grad student Patrick McAleavey (Trumbull, Conn.). The Engineers answered with four straight goals, including two by Metalios and senior Garrett Campagna (Lancaster, Pa.) to end the first frame and two more by Lindenthal and Denley Kofoed (Centennial, Colo.) to start the second. The Green and White responded with back-to-back goals by Matthews and Feeks as the teams went into halftime deadlocked at 4-4.

The teams alternated six goals in the third quarter with Babson answering each time MIT pulled ahead. Junior Andrew Berardi (Orleans, Mass.) answered a goal by Bleil, junior Ryan St. Onge (Avon, Conn.) had the response to a score by Metalios, and Smith evened the score after a go-ahead marker by Lindenthal.

Smith's goal started the six-goal surge, Matthews' goal closed out the third quarter to give Babson its first lead since the first quarter, and Feeks, Allen, Matthews and Rooney put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter.

The game was even on the stat sheet, with Babson finishing with a 48-47 lead in shots and MIT winning the battle one ground balls (33-26) and face-offs (13-11). There were just three penalties called in the game, with the Green and White going 1-for-2 and the Engineers 0-for-1 on man-up situations.

The top-seeded Beavers will have a first-round bye and will host either fourth-seeded Salve Regina or fifth-seeded Coast Guard in a NEWMAC Tournament semifinals on Thursday at MacDowell Field. Third-seeded MIT will face second-seeded Springfield in the other semifinal on Thursday in Springfield.

GAME NOTES
• Babson is 35-12 all-time against MIT in a series that dates back to 1978, including wins in 16 of the last 20 games between the two.
• Thirteen of the last 15 contests between Babson and MIT have been decided by four goals or fewer.
• The Beavers are 30-2 against conference opponents dating back to the beginning of the 2023 season.
• Almquist set a single-season program record with his 14th win of the season in goal.
• Smith became the third player in program history to record 100 career assists with his helper on Rooney's fourth-quarter goal.