Babson 13, Endicott 8: Gulls Comeback Effort Falls Just Short

BABSON PARK, Mass.—Endicott fought back from a 7-2 deficit to pull within a goal, but came up short on Sunday afternoon, falling 13-8 to Babson in non-conference women's lacrosse action at MacDowell Field.

The Gulls fell to 10-6 on the year and prepare for their final regular season game, a Wednesday afternoon trip to Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) rival Western New England. With the win, Babson evened its record at 7-7 on the season.

Seniors Kelly Tierney (South Hadley, Mass.) and Holly Davis (Guilford, Conn.), along with junior Callie Murhpy (Woburn, Mass.), each had two goals to lead Endicott. Davis also won three draw controls, while Rachel Campos (Shrewsbury, Mass.) led all players with six draws won.

The Gulls came roaring out of the halftime break with four goals in the opening 5:46 to cut their deficit to just a goal. Junior Rachel Campos (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and Murphy scored 45 seconds apart, cutting the lead to 7-4 at the 28:35 mark, and sophomore Siri Mason (Williamstown, Mass.) and Tierney followed with back-to-back scores. Spang halted the Endicott run with her second goal of the game to regain a two-goal bulge, but Tierney buried a free-position opportunity to cut the Beavers' lead to just 8-7 with 21:49 remaining in the game. 

Babson took control from there, though, scoring five of the game's final six goals to pull away. Sophomore Rachel Secrist (Westford, Mass.), who scored twice and added an assist for the hosts, pushed the advantage to 9-7 with her second goal of the game at 17:49 and Spang scored on a free-position shot to go ahead 10-7 at the 14:04 mark. Davis scored her final goal for the game for Endicott, as they closed to within two, but Spang tallied three times over the final 8:32 for the final margin. 

Junior Misha Beatty (Westwood, Mass.) had two goals and two assists, while senior Taylor Kralovenec (Cos Cob, Conn.) added a goal and tacked on a pair of assists in the win for Babson. 

Endicott's Kelsey Barnes (Mendham, N.J.) caused two turnovers and grabbed two ground balls. 

Murphy got the Gulls out a 1-0 lead just 1:16 into the contest as she converted a feed from Tierney, but the Beavers quickly rallied, scoring five straight goals to seize control of the game. First-year Kayla Farina (Newton, Mass.) tied the game on a free-position shot, Kralovenec scored in transition off a pass from Secrist, and Spang notched her first goal of the day off a Kralovenec assist for a 3-1 lead at the 20:19 mark. First-year McKenzie Tucci (Winchester, Mass.) added a free-position goal just 48 seconds later and Beatty capped the run with her first of the day to put Babson ahead 5-1 with 16:41 left in the first half. 

Davis pulled Endicott within three goals at 5-2 at the 14:54 mark, but tallies by Secrist and Beatty in the final 10 minutes of the first half gave the Beavers a 7-2 advantage at halftime. 

Junior Rachel Socolow (Westford, Mass.) made seven saves for the Gulls, while her counterpart, Julie Baharestani (Syosset, N.Y.) made nine stops for the Beavers. 

Baharestani also picked up a game-high three groundballs to lead Babson while senior Emma Locke (Boxford, Mass.) and junior Megan Andrew (Easton, Mass.) each collected two draw controls. The Beavers were successful on 16-of-18 clears on the day and forced 13 turnovers. 

Babson will be back in action when they host a NEWMAC Tournament Quarterfinal against MIT, with the date and time still to be determined.