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

BABSON PARK, Mass. -- The top-seeded Babson College women's lacrosse team advanced to its third consecutive New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference championship game after defeating #4 Wellesley College, 21-7, in the semifinal round at Babson's MacDowell Field on Saturday afternoon.

The Beavers (13-2) now advance to Sunday's championship game at 1 p.m., where they will host the winner of Saturday's second semifinal contest between second-seeded Springfield and third-seeded MIT. With the loss, Wellesley sees its season come to a close with a record of 9-8.

Babson was led by junior Anna Collins (Winchester, Mass.), who tallied seven goals and one assist for eight points, extending her school record to 84 points on the season. Junior Kaitlin Pettengill (Hopkinton, Mass.) added three goals and one assist for four points, first-year Trisha Babson (Duxbury, Mass.) contributed two goals and three assists for five points, and senior captain Lindsay Bucci (Medford, Mass.) netted three goals. The Beavers also received strong efforts from first-year Bridget McCurdy (Weston, Mass.), who amassed two goals, one assists, two caused turnovers, and three draw controls, senior Kate Nichols (Andover, Mass.), who picked up a team-high four draw controls, and junior Marissa Monaco (Quincy, Mass.), who matched McCurdy with two CTs. Sophomore goalie Sarah Macary (Woodbury, Conn.) played all 60 minutes in net for Babson, finishing with three saves.

Sophomore Jenny Holland (Bethesda, Md.) paced Wellesley with four goals in defeat, while junior Molly Morrow (Bow, N.H.) finished with two goals, two assists, and four draw controls. First-year Meredith Roy (Merrimack, N.H.) also collected four draws to go with two assists and 14 face-off wins, and sophomore Elizabeth Hayes (Roswell, Ga.) tossed in one goal to round out the Blue's scoring. Sophomore goalkeeper Mary Mattia (Atlanta, Ga.) went the distance in net, stopping six shots.

The Beavers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, as Collins, Babson, and Pettengill all found the back of the net in the opening eight minutes. The two squads then traded goals over the next eight minutes, with Babson senior captain Jackie Godfrey (Franklin, Mass.) converting a pass from fellow senior captain Jess Parker (Cataumet, Mass.) giving the hosts a 6-3 advantage with 14:20 remaining in the half.

Wellesley battled back to tie the contest at 6-6 with three unanswered goals in a 1:22 span late in the period. Holland scored the first off a Roy pass at 13:46, Morrow added an unassisted score at 12:56, and Holland struck again from Morrow at 12:24. However, the Blue would manage just one more goal over the final 42 minutes of play as Babson took over the game with 14 consecutive scores. Collins scored two goals and assisted another during a 5-0 run to close out the first half, and Pettengill, Collins, and Bucci each netted two scores during a 9-0 burst over the first 22 minutes of the second stanza. Hayes scored to snap the streak with 6:18 remaining, but McCurdy struck with 1:35 remaining to finish off the 21-7 Babson victory.

Babson will now host either Springfield or MIT in Sunday's final. The Beavers will be seeking their third consecutive NEWMAC Championship and NCAA Tournament berth.

FULL BOX SCORE IS ATTACHED

                         Lacrosse Game Summary (Final)
                      The Automated ScoreBook For Lacrosse
Wellesley College vs #13 Babson College (May 02, 2009 at Babson Park, Mass.)
Date: May 02, 2009 Location: Babson Park, Mass.    Stadium: MacDowell Field
Attendance:200   Start time:12:00 pm End time:1:38 pm   Total time:1:38

SCORE BY PERIOD       1 2 Tot
-------------------------------
Wellesley College... 6 1 - 7
Babson College...... 11 10 - 21

Wellesley College SCORING: GOALS: Jenny Holland 4; Molly Morrow 2; Elizabeth Hays 1.
ASSISTS: Molly Morrow 2; Meredith Roy 2.

Babson College SCORING: GOALS: Anna Collins 7; Kaitlyn Pettengill 3; Lindsay Bucci 3; Trisha Babson 2; Bridget McCurdy 2; Jackie Godfrey 2; Jess Parker 1; Alyssa Hood 1.
ASSISTS: Trisha Babson 3; Jess Parker 2; Anna Collins 1; Bridget McCurdy 1; Kaitlyn Pettengill 1.

Wellesley College GROUND BALLS: Alexis Fischer 3; Nicole Labbee 2; Katie Bourque 1; Molly Morrow 1.

Babson College GROUND BALLS: Ellen McCurdy 3; Kristy Benoit 2; Anna Collins 2; Bridget McCurdy 2; Jess Parker 2; Kaitlyn Pettengill 2; Trisha Babson 1; Lindsay Bucci 1; Jackie Godfrey 1; Alyssa Hood 1; Sarah Macary 1; Kate Nichols 1.

SHOTS - Wellesley College 14; Babson College 31.
SHOTS ON GOAL - Wellesley College 10; Babson College 27.
PENALTIES - Wellesley College 1/3:00; Babson College 1/3:00.
FACEOFFS - Wellesley College 15-29; Babson College 14-29.
GOALIES - WEL: Mary Mattia 9-8 (60:00 minutes, 27 shots-6 saves, 21 GA); BAB: Sarah Macary 13-2 (60:00, 10-3, 7).

Officials: Jane Vigeant; Ellen Sowa; Beth Anderson.

Collins Powers Top-Seeded Babson To 21-7 Win Over #4 Wellesley In NEWMAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament