Babson Field Hockey Team Advances to NCAA Final Four
For the second time in program history, the Babson College field hockey team advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA Division III tournament with its 16th consecutive victory.
The Beavers, ranked second in the nation, defeated No. 10 Tufts University, 1-0, Sunday at MacDowell Field. Jessica Evans ’25 scored the lone goal of the game early in the second half, and goalie Bayla Furmanek ’25 saved the only shot on goal to preserve the historic win and secure the program’s first Final Four berth since 2016.
Babson (22-1) next plays No. 1-ranked Middlebury (20-0), the five-time defending champion, in the NCAA semifinals at 3 p.m. Friday in Newport News, Virginia. The other semifinal pits Kean and Johns Hopkins. The national championship game is 1 p.m. Sunday.
Against Tufts, Babson relied on its tenacious defense, led by Meara Hanyon ’23, MS’24, Daniela Parrado-Nazal MS’24, Berit Sharrow ’25, Ellie Powers ’25, and Sanne van der Goes ’26.
In its second-round tournament game Saturday, Babson beat No. 7 Bates, 1-0, in overtime on a goal by Jackie Hill MS’24 to earn the Beavers’ third consecutive trip to the NCAA sectional finals.
In other NCAA tournament action this past weekend:
- The No. 15 men’s soccer team lost a heartbreaker to Johns Hopkins, 4-3, in overtime in Middlebury, Vermont. Johns Hopkins scored twice in the final eight minutes to force OT, and scored twice again late in the second overtime to upset the Beavers.
- The women’s soccer team lost to RIT, 1-0, at Hartwell-Rogers Field in the first round.
- Anthony Rodriguez ’24 and Julian Ivarra ’25 both earned all-region honors as the men’s cross country team finished ninth at the NCAA East Region Championships in Hopkinton, New Hampshire. The women’s cross country team finished 20th.
Follow the field hockey team at babsonathletics.com.
Posted in Babson Briefs
