The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference

BABSON PARK , MASS. -- Babson College claimed its first-ever New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Women's Lacrosse Championship on Sunday, as the top-seeded Beavers narrowly defeated second-seeded Wellesley College, 12-10, in a brilliantly-played women's lacrosse game at MacDowell Field. With the win, Babson (15-2, ranked seventh in the nation by the IWLCA), earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament - the first in the 21-year history of the program.

Junior Anita Martignetti (Winchester, Mass.) had another big day for Babson, leading all players with four goals and one assist for five points, whiles sophomores Lindsay Bucci (Mendon, Mass.) and Jackie Godfrey (Franklin, Mass.) added three goals apiece. First-years Kaitlyn Pettengill (Hopkinton, Mass.) and Anna Collins (Winchester, Mass.) rounded out the Beavers' scoring with one goal each, and senior tri-captain Jennie Williams (North Andover, Mass.) finished a terrific day in net with nine saves, including a clutch stop in the final three minutes.

Wellesley was led by the magnificent play of sophomore goalie Kristin Jaronczyk ( Manhasset , N.Y. ), who kept the high-powered Babson offense at bay with 13 saves, including nine in the opening frame. Offensively, Wellesley received a team-high three goals from first-year Colette Whitaker ( Great Falls , Va. ), as well as two scores apiece from senior Maxine Brownstein ( Roseland , N.J. ), senior Casey Logan ( Scituate , Mass. ), and junior Amber Evans ( Worthington , Ohio ).

Wellesley came storming out of the game in the first 10 minutes of play, scoring three unanswered goals to start the contest. Meanwhile, Jaronczyk came up huge on the defensive end, making five saves during that span. Babson finally broke through when Martignetti scored with 19:08 left in the half, and Bucci added a goal at 18:19 to cut the Beavers deficit to one at 3-2.

After the two teams traded goals over the next three minutes, Godfrey struck for two straight to give Babson its first lead of the game, 5-4, with 11:35 remaining in the first. Evans, Logan, and Whitaker then rattled off three in a row to put Wellesley back in front by two, but Martignetti ripped off two straight in the final 3:09 of the half to send the game into the break knotted at 7-7.

Following a sluggish first half, Babson appeared to gain a second wind during the break as Bucci and Pettengill both scored in the first four minutes of the second to give the Beavers a 9-7 advantage. Babson still led by two after Whitaker and Godfrey traded goals, but Wellesley quickly erased the deficit when Evans and Logan netted back-to-back free position goals to tie the game, 10-10, with 11:43 left to play.

Bucci put Babson in front for good with just under nine minutes remaining, as she buried her third of the day to give her team an 11-10 lead. Martignetti then gave the Beavers' a two-goal cushion when she scored with 6:40 left, forcing Wellesley to call a timeout.

After winning the ensuing draw, the Beavers ran nearly three minutes off the clock before a turnover gave Wellesley the ball back with 3:46 remaining. Whitaker then drew a foul in front of the net to earn a free position attempt, but Williams made the biggest save of the day to give her team possession with three minutes on the clock. The Blue would eventually get the ball back with under a minute remaining, but a turnover with 26 seconds left helped Babson clinch the 12-10 victory.

Sunday's win was historic on another front for the Beavers, who set a new program record for single-season victories. The previous mark was held by the 1996 team, which finished at 14-2. This year's team also extended its winning streak to 12 games - just one shy of the Babson record of 13, also set in 1996.

Babson Captures 2007 NEWMAC Women's Lacrosse Championship