BABSON PARK, Mass. – The Babson College field hockey team defeated visiting Bridgewater State University by a score of 3-2 on Tuesday evening in a non-conference match at MacDowell Field.
The Beavers were led by senior co-captain Colleen Kelly (Milton, Mass.) who finished with one goal and two assists. With the win, Babson improves to 4-2 on the season while Bridgewater State dips to 1-4.
Babson got on the board in the 19th minute when Kelly took a shot from the middle where freshman Morgan Lockwood (Feeding Hills, Mass.) then redirected the ball around Bridgewater senior goalkeeper Katie Weber (Arlington, Mass.) into the lower right side of the goal. The Beavers were then able to take the 2-0 lead when senior co-captain Sarah Fedlund (New Preston, Conn.) dribbled the ball along the end line and found Kelly at the stroke mark who then redirected the ball into the right post.
Bridgewater's best opportunity of the half came at the 15:16 mark when senior Bethany Bush (Littleton, Mass.) took a strong shot from the left side getting the ball passed Babson goalkeeper Jess Pashos (Winchester, Mass.) but junior defender Anneliese Brosch (Essex, Mass.) made a diving defensive save keeping the Bears scoreless in the first half of play.
The Bears then came back in the second half scoring two goals of their own. Their first was an unassisted goal from Bush in the 45th minute. Bridgewater then tied it up at 58:17 when Bush had a breakaway down the middle of the field. She eliminated the Babson defense and found classmate Nicole Henrique (Swansea, Mass.) open on the left side who then knocked the ball in to tie the game at 2-2 with just under 12 minutes to play.
Fredlund put the Beavers back on top when she tipped in a shot from Kelly in the 60th minute to put Babson up 3-2 with ten minutes remaining. The Babson defense was able to hold onto the lead even though a hard fighting Bridgewater team kept up the pressure in the remaining minutes.
Bridgewater goalkeeper Weber was excellent in net making nine total saves in the game. Pashos finished with one save for Babson.
The Beavers will next visit Smith College on Saturday for a 1pm New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) game while Bridgewater hosts Salve Regina for a 4pm game on Thursday.