THE BASICS:
 
- Score: No. 3 Babson College 1, MIT 0
 
- Records: MIT (13-5); Babson (20-1)
 
- Location: Babson Park, Mass. (MacDowell Field)
 
- The Lead: Nationally-ranked No. 3 and top-seeded Babson College scored midway through the first quarter and held on for a 1-0 victory over No. 2 MIT in the NEWMAC Field Hockey Championship on Saturday afternoon. This was the fourth time in five seasons that both squads battled for the conference title. The Engineers won in 2019 and 2017 while the Beavers' last victory was in 2016.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
Release Courtesy of Babson College
 
- Babson recorded what proved to be the only goal of the game after 8:22 expired. MIT senior goalie Juliana Strother (Mequon, Wis.) came off her line to make a sliding stop on Lauren Curley's initial shot from the middle of the circle, but Curley gathered the rebound and blasted it into the open cage.
 
- After being held without a shot in the opening frame, the Engineers produced four shots, two of which were on goal and earned three penalty corners.
 
- MIT continued to pressure the Beavers' defense in the third quarter as it amassed 10 shots and 11 penalty corners. Junior Liberty Ladd (Falmouth, Maine) hit a rocket through traffic that banged off the left post with 3:33 to go in the frame. Babson registered a defensive save with 53 seconds remaining as Berit Sharrow swept senior Lucy Kitch-Peck's (Bethlehem, Pa.) shot from the top of the circle off the line.
 
- The Beavers had a goal waved off with in the 51st minute and then senior goalie Kiely Smiga-McManus (Etna, N.H.) made a pair of saves to keep the Engineers within striking distance. MIT generated eight more penalty corners during the last five minutes of the game. Babson goalie Cassidy Riley made a kick save on a hard shot by first-year Ashley Lederman (Villanova, Pa.) with 3:14 on the clock and then Ladd's tip on the third corner of the final minute floated wide as time expired.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
 
- Strother posted four saves in the first half while Smiga-McManus closed out the game with three stops.
 
- The Engineers ended the day with advantages in shots (22-11), shots on goal (9-8), and penalty corners (25-7).
 
UP NEXT:
 
- MIT will wait to see if it earns an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament when the bracket is announced in the evening of Sunday, Nov. 7 on NCAA.com.
 
STAY CONNECTED:
 
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