NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) field hockey team was defeated by No. 18 Babson College, 9-0, this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Nordin Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons finish their season at 10-8 overall and 4-5 in league play, while the Beavers, who are ranked in the most recent National Field Hockey Coaches Association national poll, win their fifth straight and improve to 13-6 and 8-1. Babson finishes the regular season as the number two seed in the upcoming NEWMAC Championship Tournament and will host a Semifinal match on November 5 in Babson Park, Mass. after earning a bye in the opening round.
The Beavers held a healthy 31-4 shooting advantage, including 10-0 in the third quarter. Babson owned a 13-2 margin in penalty corners as well.
Senior midfielder Ally Slicer (Waterford, Maine) and junior forward Ava Audette (Essex Junction, Vt.) each put a shot on goal to pace Wheaton's offense. Senior goalie Grace Ferguson (Williston, Vt.) stopped seven of 13 shots in the first 30 minutes, before junior Elise LeBlanc (Hampstead, N.H.) denied three of five shots in the third quarter and sophomore Molly Braica (New Boston, N.H.) stopped three of four shots in the fourth quarter for the Lyons. Senior defender Maddie LaBreck (Rollinsford, N.H.) and junior midfielder Kelsey Thompson (North Attleboro, Mass.) each recorded defensive saves for the home team.
Junior midfielder Penny Baroni (Dennis, Mass.) tallied four points, including three goals, to lead the Beavers. First year forward Kate Schneider (Walpole, Mass.) also scored multiple goals for the visitors with two and added a pair of assists, while junior midfielder Taylor Shoflick (Greenwood Village, Colo.) registered two assists. First year starting keeper Carly Spinner (Lafayette Hill, Pa.) was untested through the first three quarters for Babson, before yielding to sophomore goalie Madison Tibbals (Gorham, Maine), who turned away both shots she faced in the fourth period.
Baroni scored the first three goals of the game within the first 23-plus minutes for Babson. Her marker with 6:46 left in the second quarter gave her five hat tricks on the season, including four in her last four contests. She currently leads the NEWMAC with 23 goals.
The Beavers did not let up, scoring three more times in the final five-plus minutes, receiving markers from senior forward Helen DiGiovanni (Harwich, Mass.), senior forward Ashley Braren (Westwood, Mass.) and Schneider with a goal off the bench with just 10 ticks left before the intermission to give Babson a 6-0 halftime lead.
Sophomore midfielder Brooke Willey (Goshen, Ky.) and senior back Emma Smith (Kenilworth, Ill.) each potted a goal in the final four minutes of the third quarter to increase Babson's advantage to 5-0 heading into the final quarter of play. Schneider added her second score of the day and 10th of the season with 3:42 to play in the match.
Both of Wheaton's shots on the cage came within the final five minutes of play off a penalty corner. Audette sent a backhanded shot toward the goal line that was thwarted by Tibbals, before Slicer sent a rebound try ticketed for the cage, but Tibbals was up to the task again to preserve the shut out.
