Babson 3, WPI 1  

Babson Park, MA --- The fourth-seeded Babson College field hockey team advanced to the semifinals of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference Tournament for the third straight year by posting a 3-1 victory over fifth-seeded WPI in a quarterfinal matchup at MacDowell Field on Sunday afternoon. The Beavers (9-10) will now head across town to meet top-seeded Wellesley in the semis next Saturday, while the Engineers (12-6) are eliminated from the tourney.

The two teams played evenly throughout the contest, with Babson taking advantage of two key scoring opportunities midway through the first half to build a 2-0 lead at the break. Junior back Michele Farley (Skowhegan, ME) put the Beavers on the board when she scored her second goal of the year on a drive from the top with 21:19 left in the period, with classmate Brittany Stevens (Dudley, MA) providing the assist. Babson then struck again with just under 17 minutes remaining, as senior co-captain Andrea Tufts (Wolfeboro, NH) scored an unassisted goal off a shot from the top to give her team a 2-0 cushion.

Babson's lead looked safe for most of the second half, as the Beavers' defensive unit limited WPI to just two shots on goal through the first 19 minutes. Sophomore goalie Elissa Slovin (Andover, MA) stopped both attempts just 35 seconds apart, including a magnificent diving stick save on a shot by sophomore Maggie Elbag (Rutland, MA) with 16:31 left in regulation.

The Engineers finally broke through with 15:50 remaining in the contest, as Elbag fired a shot into the circle that junior Heather Hassett (Oxford, MA) tipped past Slovin to cut WPI's deficit to 2-1. However, Babson answered with a key insurance goal with 8:49 on the clock, when sophomore Nicole Cemelli (Towaco, NJ) converted a feed from Farley off a penalty corner to finish off the 3-1 win.