Wellesley Field Hockey Falls To No. 2 Babson, 4-1

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Sophomore Tori Roche (Andover, Mass.) scored a pair of goals to lead visiting Babson College to a 4-1 New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) victory over Wellesley College field hockey on Tuesday at the Wellesley Fields Complex.

The Beavers, the No. 2 team in the latest NFHCA Division III Coaches Poll, remain undefeated (4-0) in NEWMAC play and are now an impressive 11-1 overall. Wellesley is an even 5-5 on the year and 2-2 in conference.

All five of the goals in the game came in the first half, beginning with three-unanswered from the Beavers. Roche corralled a loose ball in the circle and finished right in front of the cage at 20:46 to make the score 1-0. Classmate Kate Driscoll (Milton, Mass.) doubled the Babson lead at 25:39, tipping in a shot from junior Lauren Drakeley (Woodbury, Conn.) on a penalty corner. Roche then scored again, tallying her second of the game and seventh of the season, at 31:10 to make the score 3-0 Babson. 

Wellesley got on the board just over a minute after Roche's second, scoring on a penalty corner at 32:43. Junior Rachel Hwang (Campbell, Calif.) inserted the ball to sophomore Mitzi Wiggin (North Hampton, N.H) who knocked a pass to senior Emmy Hamilton (New York, N.Y). Hamilton then fired the ball in from the top of the circle to make the score 3-1 at 32:43. 

The Beavers regained their three-goal lead in the dying seconds of the first, scoring with 19 seconds left in the half when sophomore Carla DiBiase (Winchester, Mass.) tipped in her fourth of the season on a cage-front assist from Driscoll.

Babson outshot the Blue, 9-0, after the half but could not add another goal. The Beavers finished the game with a 21-3 advantage in shots and also had a 9-2 edge in penalty corners. 

Sophomore goalkeeper Deidre Barry (Longmeadow, Mass.) earned the win (11-1) for Babson, making one save. First year Janelle Sullivan (Philadelphia, Pa.) recorded eight saves in the setback for Wellesley.

Both teams return to action on Saturday, October 7, at 12:00 PM as part of the NEWMAC's annual Play 4 The Cure Day. Babson will host Clark and Wellesley will host Seven Sisters rival Mount Holyoke.