BABSON PARK, Mass.—Senior Jessica Fernandes (Pawtucket, R.I.) scored twice and Babson College rallied for three second half goals to defeat visiting Mount Holyoke College, 3-1, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's soccer action on Friday night at MacDowell Field.
With its second consecutive win, Babson closes the regular season at 7-9-2 overall and 4-6-0 in league play. The Beavers now must wait until Sunday afternoon to find out if they will qualify for next week's NEWMAC Tournament. Mount Holyoke sees its year come to a close at 3-12-2 overall and 1-9-0 in conference play.
Senior Jessica DeLuca (Sudbury, Mass.) converted her second penalty kick of the season and first-year Alexis Fortune (Brampton, Ontario) picked up a pair of assists for the Green and White. First-year Kayla Salmon (Arlington, Va.) made one save in just under 83 minutes of work, while senior Elizabeth Mycock (Windham, Maine) faced just one shot over the final seven minutes.
Senior Dale Leonhart (Petaluma, Calif.) scored for the Lyons and junior Hannah Finn-Erb (Northampton, Mass.) recorded an assist. Senior Amanda Manaster (Beverly Hills, Calif.) was spectacular in her final college game making 18 saves.
Trailing 1-0 after 45 minutes, the Beavers leveled the match when Fernandes took a thru ball from Fortune and slid a shot past Manaster and inside the right post in the 66th minute. Fernades completed her brace just over 10 minutes later when buried a rebound from the edge of the six-yard box after a sprawling save by Manaster to give the hosts a 2-1 advantage with 14:37 left to play.
DeLuca added an insurance tally just over four minutes later when she calmly drilled a penalty under the crossbar following a foul in the box for a two-goal margin.
Babson dominated possession throughout the first half but faced a halftime devicit after Leonhart scored on a 30-yard strike in the 27th minute. Following a giveaway by the Beavers, Finn-Erb played the ball back to Leonart, whose shot sailed over Salmon and under the bar.
Manaster tipped a shot by Babson senior Emma Dineen (Hinsdale, Ill.) over the crossbar in the 35th minute, Fortune had a goal called back after the offside flag went up late, and then watched as Manaster tipped her bid to tie the game off the bar and out of danger in the 41st minute. Mount Holyoke senior Alex Kenoian (Oak Park, Ill.) also cleared a flick by Fernandes off the goal line following a corner kick in the 13th minute.
Should Babson qualify for the NEWMAC Tournament, it would hit the road for a quarterfinal match on Tuesday. The full pairings will be announced on Sunday afternoon.
Release courtesy of Babson Athletic Communications.
