Babson Women's Lacrosse Stifles Smith, 16-3

Beavers Wrap Up Playoff Berth and Take Over First Place In NEWMAC With Lopsided Victory
NORTHAMPTON, Mass.—Sophomore Julia Harrigan (Portsmouth, R.I.) scored three goals and finished with a season-high nine draw controls as visiting Babson College raced past Smith College, 16-3, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's lacrosse action on Saturday afternoon.

Babson, which has won five straight and eight of its last nine games, is now 9-3 overall and 5-0 in conference play. Smith, which has dropped six consecutive contests, drops to 4-9 overall and 0-5 in the NEWMAC.

Senior McKenzie Tucci (Winchester, Mass.) and juniors Emily Bresnahan (Wenham, Mass.) and
Kiley Fischer (Marblehead, Mass.) all scored twice for the Beavers. Classmate Katie McKenna (Sandwich, Mass.) and sophomore Charlotte O'Halloran (Middletown, R.I.) each contributed a goal and an assist, while junior Delaney Carroll (Acton, Mass.) finished with six ground balls and a career-high five caused turnovers.

Senior Ray Silveria (Dunstable, Mass.) and sophomore Julia Hamilton (Williamstown, Mass.) combined for three goals and two assists for the Pioneers, who got 17 saves from classmate Sarah Price (Hudson, Ohio).

Junior Francesca Giovannuci (Easton, Mass.) opened the scoring at the 28:36 mark, and Harrigan, sophomore Lyndsay Giroux (Westwood, Mass.) and Tucci all notched goals in a span of less than three minutes to extend the Babson lead to 4-0 with 17:34 to go in the first half. Hamilton scored on one of Smith's three shots in the period, but the Beavers responded with four late tallies, including the final two from Bresnahan, to take an 8-1 lead at the break.

O'Halloran scored five seconds into the second half and Harrigan followed with her second goal of the game just over a minute later to extended the Beavers' lead to 10-1. The Pioneers struck for two of the game's next three goals, but the Green and White closed the game with five markers over the final 21:13, including tallies by first-years Taylor Thorbahn (Duxbury, Mass.) and Olivia Martino (Berlin, Conn.), for the final margin.

Junior goalkeeper Stevie Burger (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) made five saves for Babson, all in the second half.

The Beavers finished with a 40-10 edge in shots, went 9-for-9 on clears and held a slim 15-14 advantage in ground balls.

Both teams return to action on Wednesday as Babson hosts Coast Guard at 4 p.m., while Smith visits Springfield at 6 p.m.

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are now 21-13 all-time against Smith and have won 16 straight in the series going back to 2001.
• Babson's five-game winning streak is its longest since 2012.
• The Beavers' 40 shots were a season high and the most since amassing 44 in a 20-3 win over Smith in 2015.
• The Green and White did not attempt a free-position shot for the first time since a 20-5 victory over the Pioneers on March 27, 2010.