WORCESTER -- Babson's Jessica Evans (Southbury, CT) accounted for the only goal of the game 48 seconds into the second quarter to lift the nationally ranked Beavers to a hard-earned 1-0 victory over host WPI in a NEWMAC field hockey contest played late Tuesday afternoon on H.Carr Field at Alumni Stadium. 

With the victory, the Beavers, who are ranked ninth in the most recent Penn Monto/NFHCA Division III National Coaches Top 20, improve to 7-3 overall and remain a perfect 3-0 in conference.  WPI saw its modest two-game winning streak snapped and now sits at 5-6 on the season and 3-1 in NEWMAC action. 

The first quarter was a somewhat even affair with WPI enjoying both a 2-1 edge in shots and penalty corners but neither team dented the scoring column.  Babson broke through when Evans took a pass from Camille Marsh (Englewood, CO) in the middle, just outside the circle and spun around to her right side and rocked a shot just inside the far post at 15:48 for her fifth goal of the season and 14th of her career. 

The middle two quarters saw the visitors control play, attempting 11 of the two frames 14 shots and all six of the corners. WPI took the final two corners of the game and outshot the Beavers 4-2 over the final 15 minutes but were not able to put the equalizer in.  The Engineers best chance came following a corner with just over nine minutes remaining, but Eve Martineau (Greene, ME) and Eliza Dutson (Woodstock, CT) had their shots repelled by Babson netminder Bayla Furmanek (State College, PA).

Furmanek made six stops on her way to her second clean sheet of 2022.  Crimson and Gray goalkeeper Nini Acquista (Longmeadow, MA) played well, recording seven saves while aided by a defensive save from Martineau. 

For the game, Babson held a 14-9 edge in shots and an 8-4 advantage in penalty corners.  WPI's Lauren Meinhold (Boxboro, MA) paced all players with four shots, three on goal. 

WPI steps out of NEWMAC play for its final non-conference road game of 2022 on Saturday, venturing to Keene State for a 1:30pm match-up with the Owls.  Babson, which was playing its fourth straight road contest on Tuesday, returns home Saturday for a noon showdown with Springfield.   

Majority of recap written by WPI Sports Information Student Assistant Maya Vartabedian '24 and Cody Potvin '25