No. 3 Field Hockey vs. No. 4 Christopher Newport
Saturday, September 5 | 12 p.m.
MacDowell Field | Babson Park, Mass.

WHAT TO KNOW
• No. 3 Babson will take on No. 4 Christopher Newport (Va.) on Saturday at MacDowell Field in a battle of teams that both competed in the 2025 NCAA Division III tournament semifinals in Hartford, Conn.
• The top-ranked Captains took a 19-0 record into the first semifinal last fall, dropping a hard-fought 1-0 decision to sixth-ranked and eventual champion Tufts, while the third-ranked Beavers battled for more than 76 minutes in the second semifinal before suffering a heart-breaking double-overtime 2-1 loss to second-ranked Johns Hopkins to finish with a 22-2 record.

SERIES HISTORY
• First career meeting

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• No. 3 Babson (1-0) got the 2026 season underway with a 2-0 victory over No. 10 Endicott on Tuesday evening in Beverly, Mass.
• Senior Helen DiGiovanni scored a pair of second-quarter goals to help secure the victory. Junior Taylor Shoflick picked up an assist and sophomore goalie Madison Tibbals made two saves to register her 10th career shutout.
• Junior Penny Baroni (11-7-29) was a second team All-American and first team All-Region and All-NEWMAC last season. Senior Grace Mullaney (4-8-16) tied for third in the conference in assists and classmate Ashley Braren (5-1-11) was fourth on the team in goals.
• Sophomore Anna Bonazzoli earned first-team All-Region and All-NEWMAC honors after starting every game at center back. She was joined by senior Emma Smith and junior Lauren Golden on a defense that ranked 13th in Division III in team goals against average (0.89). Tibbals had an outstanding rookie campaign, posting a 21-2 record with nine shutouts.

SCOUTING THE CAPTAINS
• No. 4 Christopher Newport (1-0) opened its 2026 campaign with a 2-0 road triumph over No. 23 Washington and Lee on Tuesday in Lexington, Va.
• Senior Riley Iasiello produced a goal and an assist to lead the Captains and sophomore Kate Engle added a goal of her own. Senior Ella Fallen made two saves to record the shutout in her first career start in goal and her 20th career appearance.
• The Captains brought back 17 holdovers from 2025, including nine starters, seven seniors, and three All-Americans. Senior Courtney Hughlett (6-15-27) is a reigning first-team All-American and Regional Player of the Year after establishing a program record for assists.
• Senior Caroline Hughlett (7-9-23) also garnered a first-team All-American nod, while senior Lindsey Loar (14-4-32) was a third-team selection. Additionally, senior defender Kendall Gibson, junior MF Avery Mast (3-8-14), and junior defender Kelly Via were All-Region picks last year.

HOME SWEET HOME
• Babson finished 14-0 at home last season and has won 23 in a row on MacDowell Field since a 2-1 loss to No. 1 Middlebury on September 15, 2024.
• The Beavers have won 39 of 40 home games over the last three seasons and 63 of their last 68 outings since the start of the 2021 season.
• Nine of the last 10 home victories and 17 of the last 25 wins at home have come by way of the shutout.
• The Green and White outscored their opponents 34-5 at home last season and have a 93-11 scoring advantage at home over the past two campaigns.

NFHCA WATCHLIST
• Three Beavers were among the 204 student-athletes who were named to the 2026 National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division III Watchlist.
• Baroni was selected to the Watchlist for the second year in a row while Bonazzoli and Tibbals were recognized for the first time.

CHALLENGING SLATE
• Saturday's match-up is the second of seven Babson games this season vs. teams ranked in the NFHCA Division III Coaches Poll.
• The Beavers, who defeated No. 10 Endicott in the season opener, will also face No. 11 Williams, No. 7 Middlebury, No. 1 Tufts, No. 24 WPI and No. 15 Bowdoin.
• The Green and White were 7-2 against ranked teams in 2025 after going 3-4 in 2024 and 7-2 in 2023.

NFHCA DIVISION III POLL
• Babson has been ranked in the Division III top 10 in 48 consecutive polls dating back to October 5, 2021.
• The Beavers have appeared in 102 polls in a row dating back to September 21, 2015.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Beavers are 17-0 since the start of last year and are 92-2 over the past six seasons when scoring the first goal of the game.
• Babson has won its last 85 games since 2021 when leading at halftime.
• The Green and White are 20-0 since last fall and 92-2 over the past six seasons when scoring at least two goals.
• The Beavers are 20-0 since last year when holding opponents to one goal or less and have won 124 of 127 contests since 2018 when keeping opponents to fewer than two goals.

UP NEXT
• The Beavers will be home again on Tuesday, hosting Saint Joseph's of Maine at 6:00 p.m.