Babson Women's Lacrosse Rallies Late to Stun Springfield, 11-10

Recap, photo courtesy of Babson

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.—First-year Juliana McGuire (Sparta, N.J.) scored five times and visiting Babson College scored four unanswered goals over the final 7:54 to rally past Springfield College, 11-10, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's lacrosse action on Saturday afternoon at Stagg Field.

Babson, which has won two straight games, improves to 5-4 overall and 2-0 in league play, while Springfield slips to 5-5 overall and 1-1 in the NEWMAC.

Senior Julia Harrigan (Portsmouth, R.I.), who led all players with eight draw controls, and first-year Georgia Salvatore (Westwood, Mass.) both scored twice for the Beavers. Classmate Sara O'Connor (Marshfield, Mass.) picked up two ground balls and first-year goalkeeper Cricket Fligor (Weston, Mass.) made a career-high 11 saves in the win.

Senior Kristen Steidler (Somers, Conn.) and junior Amanda Nusbaum (Conway, N.H.) both scored three goals for the Pride, while senior Ann Mahoney (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) and junior Andie Stone (Burlington, Conn.) combined for 11 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers. Sophomore goalkeeper Brenna Keefe (Acton, Mass.) stopped five shots in a losing effort.

Steidler scored back-to-back goals to give Springfield a 2-0 lead 10:30 into the contest, and Nusbaum buried a free-position chance with 4:33 to go in the period to keep the hosts in front 5-2 after 30 minutes. Senior Shelby Corsano (Bourne, Mass.) scored 1:31 into the second half to give the Pride its biggest lead of the game, but Harringan struck back with consecutive tallies to pull Babson back within 6-4 with 25:24 remaining in the contest.

Prior to the late rally, the Beavers cut their deficit to two on four occasions over the next 15 minutes only to see Springfield respond with a marker, including Nusbaum's final tally to make it 10-7 with 10:18 to play. Fligor denied Nusbaum on a free-position chance with 8:32 left and McGuire followed with back-to-back goals to make it 10-9 with 5:27 to go.

The Pride turned the ball over on its next two possessions leading to Salvatore's free-position goal to tie the game with 3:30 left. O'Connor won the ensuing draw control and McGuire buried another free-position shot to give Babson its first lead of the game with 2:06 remaining.

The Beavers lost the draw but forced a turnover as Springfield was unable to get off a potential game-tying shot.

The Green and White held a 9-5 edge in second-half draw controls and were a perfect 8-for-8 on clearing opportunities over the final 30 minutes. The Beavers also connected on all five of their free-position shots after halftime.