Politixia
Women’s Lacrosse at No. 12 Colby
NCAA Tournament | Second Round
Sunday, May 14 | 1 p.m.
Bill Alfond Field | Waterville, Maine
SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 1-3 all-time against Colby in a series that dates back to 1997.
• The Beavers won the inaugural meeting between the programs in Babson Park back in 1997 before suffering three consecutive losses over the next three seasons.
• Sunday’s matchup will be the first between Babson and the Mules since 2000.
LAST MEETING
• Katie Matthews ’01 scored three goals and Abby Howe made 10 saves as Babson suffered a 20-4 loss to Colby in its regular season finale on May 6, 2000.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson (12-7) has won six consecutive games after routing Westfield State 23-8 in Saturday’s NCAA Tournament first round matchup.
• Graduate student Emily Curtis finished with career highs of eight goals, five assists and 13 points, senior Claudia Dodge scored four times and classmate Erin Jayne added three goals for the Beavers, who set NCAA Tournament program records for goals scored and margin of victory.
• Curtis (73-29-102) entered the weekend ranked 41st in Division III in points and has scored in 19 straight games, Jayne (41-27-68) is averaging 4.00 points over her last five outings, and Dodge (40-16-56) owns an 18-game points streak and is tied for the team lead with 26 caused turnovers.
• Sophomore Clare Connolly ranks first in Division III in both draw controls (222) and draws per game (11.10), junior Eileen Manning leads the defense with 36 ground balls and 26 caused turnovers, and sophomore Kathleen Murphy boasts a 9.67 goals against average and a .430 save percentage in 20 starts.
SCOUTING THE MULES
• No. 12 Colby (12-5) earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament following its 20-6 loss at No. 1 Middlebury in the NESCAC semifinals last Saturday.
• Ally Franz and Annie Eddy both scored twice for the Mules, who won just 5-of-30 draws and trailed 11-3 after the first quarter.
• Gianna Bruno (25-46-71) ranks 18th in Division III averaging 2.71 assists per game, Eddy (45-7-52) leads the team with 14 free-position tallies and Franz (31-8-39) has produced four straight multi-goal games for a balanced attack that features six players with at least 29 points.
• Julia Jardina (22-7-29) is first on the team with 97 draw controls, Elizabeth Hennessey has won 58 draws to go along with 23 ground balls and 17 caused turnovers, and Sarah Hearns owns a 10.49 goals against average and a .372 save percentage in 17 starts this spring.
BABSON IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• The Beavers are making their second NCAA Tournament appearance in the last three seasons and the ninth overall in program history, all of which have come since 2007.
• Babson has advanced to the second round in three of their last four trips to the NCAA Tournament (2017, 2018, 2023) and made four consecutive Round of 16 appearances from 2007-10.
• The Green and White is 2-3 all-time against NESCAC opponents in the NCAA Tournament.
COLBY IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• The Mules are making their second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and their 12th overall in program history, all of which have come since 2006.
• Colby has advanced to the national quarterfinals five times (2010-12, 2014, 2022) and owns an 8-2 record all-time in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
SEVEN BEAVERS EARN NEWMAC ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
• Curtis, Dodge and Manning were all named to the All-NEWMAC first team, while Jayne, Connolly, Murphy and junior Kayleigh Hacker (26 GB, 21 CT) garnered second-team accolades when the league announced its postseason awards on Tuesday.
• Hacker collected her third straight all-conference honor, while Dodge, Jayne and Murphy were all recognized for the second year in a row.
REWRITING THE RECORD BOOKS
• Jayne ranks fourth on Babson’s all-time list with 77 assists and is 12th in points (195) and 15th in goals (118) despite playing just 49 career games after both the 2020 and 2021 seasons were cut short due to COVID-19.
• Thanks to Saturday’s 13-point day, Curtis joined Lexi Lenaghan ’19, who put up 118 points in 2019 and 102 in 2018, as the only players in program history to surpass 100 points in a season. She is tied for second in points (102), ranks third in goals (73) and is 10th on the Beavers’ single-season assist chart with 29.
• Dodge is ranked ninth on the program’s all-time list with 74 caused turnovers.
DOMINATING THE DRAW
• Connolly, who moved into second place on Babson’s career list with 305 draw controls, has won at least 11 each of her last five games and nine of the last 10 contests overall going back a 22-3 win at Mount Holyoke on April 8.
• The Beavers are 11-1 this season when she finishes with 10 or more draw controls, which includes 10 consecutive wins since April 2.
STREAKING BEAVERS
• Jayne, who has recorded at least one point in 48 of 49 games during her career, has produced at least one goal in 10 consecutive outings since being shutout by Williams on April 5.
• Evans has registered five straight multi-goal games and has 18 goals and six assists for 22 points during her current six-game points streak.
• In addition to winning double-digit draws, Connolly has scored in six consecutive games going back to April 19.
TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE
• Five members of Babson’s current team saw action in the Beavers’ 21-9 loss to TCNJ in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
• Jayne and junior Nicole Darveau both scored twice, Dodge contributed a goal, senior Anna Katherine Sypniewski dished out one assist and Hacker led all players with three caused turnovers against the Lions.
SOMETHING IN COMMON
• Babson and Colby share five common opponents, four of which are nationally-ranked members of the NESCAC (Middlebury, Trinity, Wesleyan and Williams)
• The Beavers lost to No. 1 Middlebury and No. 5 Wesleyan back in early March and also were defeated by No. 7 Trinity and No. 13 Williams.
• The Mules lost to Williams in early March and own a one-goal win over Wesleyan in addition to two close victories over Trinity and two lopsided losses to Middlebury.
LUCKY 13
• With its win on Saturday, Babson has now registered at least 13 victories in every full season going back to 2016 under the leadership of head coach Michelle Smith.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Beavers are 9-1 this season and 15-2 over the last two seasons when Murphy saves 50 percent of the shots she faces.
• Babson has won seven consecutive games and is 8-3 away from home on the year.
• The Beavers are 13-0 this season and are 26-1 over the last two seasons when scoring at least 12 goals.
• The Green and White is 8-1 this spring and 18-2 since the start of last year when scoring four or more free-position goals.
• Babson is 7-2 this season and 18-4 over the last two years when forcing at least 10 turnovers.
LOOKING AHEAD
• The winner of Sunday’s contest will face either No. 6 TCNJ or No. 11 Messiah next Saturday.
