BABSON PARK, Mass. -- Senior Mackenna Reynolds (Longmeadow, Mass.) scored her first goal of the 2026 season for the Wheaton College (Mass.) women's soccer team after sophomore Camila Leiva (Warwick, R.I.) left the crossbar shaking with a thunderous shot from range. Reynolds' opportune finish started the scoring for the Lyons as they took down Babson 2-1 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference play on Saturday at Hartwell-Rogers Field in Babson Park, Mass. 

Wheaton improved to 9-4-2 overall and 6-2-1 in the NEWMAC after the win and clinched a home playoff spot in the upcoming NEWMAC Championship Tournament. Babson fell to 6-7-4 overall and 3-2-4 in the NEWMAC following the loss. 

Leiva led the Lyons with a goal and assist as she continues to sit atop the NEWMAC goal-scorers standings with her 15th of the fall. Reynolds had the other goal for Wheaton while junior Paige Malowski (Vineyard Haven, Mass.) finished as the only Lyon to put a shot on target. Sophomore goalkeeper Olivia King (Simsbury, Conn.) made six saves while playing the entire 90 minutes. 

Junior Mack Feeney (North Attleboro, Mass.) had the lone goal for the Beavers as a substitute. Sophomore Izzy Lee (Phoenix, Ariz.) was the engine of the offense for Babson as she finished with three shots on goal to lead the team. Junior Lillian McAughan (Bellevue, Wash.) finished with two shots on goal in 73 minutes. Babson split the goalkeeping between sophomore Maisie Creamer (Boulder, Colo.) and senior Callahan Cottone (Medway, Mass.) and they finished with one save and two saves respectively. 

The game opened with Babson in control of possession and tempo. The Wheaton backline was tested early as McAughan steered a shot on target in the fourth minute. King made the save, but the pressure was on. Lee put a shot off the crossbar after the resulting corner kick, but the Beavers were unable to put another shot on frame as they missed their next two chances.

Wheaton shifted the momentum 15 minutes into the contest after Malowski was able to break through the Babson defense and force Cottone into a save. The Lyons warded off two more Babson corner kicks before they finally managed to break through on the score sheet. Leiva started the play from her favorite spot on the pitch, the left wing. A ranged shot clattered off the crossbar and fell right to the feet of Reynolds. The senior forward had only come onto the pitch two minutes prior, but was more than ready as she put her shot into the back of the net. The Beavers mustered up one more corner kick before halftime, but never truly threatened the Lyons' goal.

The Lyons started the second half on the front foot. Leiva marched downfield and forced a save out of the fresh goalkeeper Creamer. Wheaton had their foot on the gas, and it took only 12 minutes of second-half play to break through once again. This time it was Leiva who swerved in and out of traffic before a devastating shot off her right foot beat a diving Creamer. 

Feeney scored 15 minutes later, but the goal came against the grain of play. Wheaton dominated possession in the second half and King made four saves in the latter frame to keep the Lyons in front. The remainder of the 90 minutes saw neither side develop meaningful chances, and Wheaton took a 2-1 win back to Norton. 

The Lyons will play out the remainder of their season at home. They will host Coast Guard on Wednesday at 3:30 pm. Babson will also play on Wednesday as they take the short trip to Wellesley for a 3:30 pm kickoff.