BABSON PARK, Mass.—Sophomore Catherine Gilman (Cohasset, Mass.) scored the only goal of the match midway through the first half to send top-seeded and ninth-ranked Babson College past fifth-seeded Mount Holyoke College, 1-0, in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) field hockey Tournament semifinal on Saturday at MacDowell Field.

With the win, Babson is now 18-2 overall and advances to the conference championship game for the first time since 2010. Mount Holyoke sees its season come to a close at 12-7.  

First-year Deirdre Barry (Longmeadow, Mass.) did not have to make a save for the Beavers, while senior Liz DiCesare (Westford, Mass.) stopped seven shots for the Lyons.

DiCesare made a pair of early saves on sophomore Ashley Tango (Reading, Mass.) before Gilman broke through to give the Green and White a 1-0 lead at the 17:29 mark of the opening period. She carried the ball into the circle and had her initial blast denied by DiCesare, but gathered the rebound and drilled it into the back of cage for her second marker of the year.

The Beavers had their best opportunity to extended the lead just after halftime, but DiCesare charged out near the top of the circle to deny Tango's breakaway chance. She also denied junior Elise Towers (Cicero, N.Y.) following a penalty corner with a little more than seven minutes to go.

Mount Holyoke's best chances to equalize came in the final 10 minutes, but a centering pass rolled through the crease untouched with just under nine minutes left, and senior Charlotte Wagner (West Chester, Pa.) had her centering pass blocked by Babson junior Nicole Smith (Barrington, R.I.) with less than three minutes to go.

The Beavers finished with a 15-1 edge in shots and a 7-2 advantage in corners.

Babson will face either second-seeded Smith or third-seeded MIT on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.