David Peterson
David Peterson

No. 8 Babson Sends No. 20 Blue Field Hockey to 4-1 Setback

WELLESLEY, Mass. – No. 8 Babson College scored three goals in the first half before adding a fourth in the second half to down No. 20 Wellesley College field hockey, 4-1, in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Tuesday afternoon at the Wellesley Fields Complex. 

Babson improves to 11-1 on the year and 4-0 in NEWMAC games. The Blue drop to an 5-5 overall following a third consecutive loss and are now 2-2 in conference. 

Babson junior Elise Towers (Cicero, N.Y.) scored a pair of goals to lead the Beavers, while sophomore Ashley Tango (Reading, Mass.) and senior Staci Swallow (South Portland, Mass.) each added goals as well.

Tango opened the scoring in the contest 2:58 into the first half when she slammed home a loose ball following Babson's second penalty corner. Towers then scored the first of her two goals at 7:22, finishing on an assist from senior Victoria Spofford (Merrimac, Mass.). Towers would add a goal in the second half, when she dove on the turf to power home a shot from Jacki Merrigan (Canton, Mass.) 15 minutes after the break.

Babson senior Stacy Swallow (South Portland, Maine) made the score 3-0 Babson before the break with her sixth of the season, an unassisted marker at 17:02.

Wellesley broke Babson's shutout bid late in the second half when senior Nikki Sharkin (Summit, N.J.) scored her fourth goal of the season on a penalty corner. Classmate Courtney Peterson (Glastonbury, Conn.) set-up Sharkin on the play, swinging a pass to the top of the arc that Sharkin drove past Babson goalkeeper Deirdre Barry.

Barry made one save in the contest to earn the win. In the Wellesley cage, sophomore Maggie Connelly (Duxbury, Mass.) and senior Lucy Hurlock (Needham, Mass.) combined to make nine saves in the setback. 

Babson outshot the Blue 10-0 in the first half to finish with a 15-3 advantage in shots in the contest. The Beavers also had the edge in penalty corner opportunities, 6-2. 

Both teams will continue the NEWMAC season on Saturday, October 8. The Blue will travel to WPI for a 10:00 AM start. Babson will visit Smith at 12:00 PM.