South Hadley, Mass. - September 18, 2021 - Despite a goal from Mollee Malboeuf (Fitchburg, Mass.) in the first quarter of play, the Mount Holyoke College field hockey team fell to nationally-ranked Babson College, 7-1, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play at the MHC Turf & Track Complex on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, the Beavers, which were ranked No. 12 in the latest National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division III National Rankings, improves to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the NEWMAC, while the Lyons are now 1-4 on the year with an 0-1 mark in league play. The Beavers held a 33-8 shot advantage over 60 minutes of play, while the Lyons were granted eight penalty corners in the game, compared to Babson's seven.

First-year Rachel Katzenberg (Reistertown, Md.) got the nod for the Lyons and made 11 saves before Andie Hardin (Pittsburgh, Pa.) came on in relief and made six more saves for Mount Holyoke. Babson's Cassidy Riley played three quarters and made a pair of saves for the green and white before Bayla Furmanek came on for the final quarter to preserve the victory.

Babson struck first just 3:16 into the contest when Quinn Greer buried a chance that was set up by Millie Brady, before the Beavers took a 2-0 advantage just 1:43 later when Greer scored her second of the game, picking up a rebound following a shot from Jessica Evans. Babson took a 3-0 lead with 6:15 on the clock when Mackenzie Larson carried the ball along the end line before slipping a pass to Evans, who then pushed the pass along to the back post where Brianne McGrath was waiting for her fourth goal of the season.

With less than one second remaining in the first quarter the Lyons got on the board as Malboeuf sent in a penalty corner which was played on net by Phoebe Aaronson (Mountain View, Calif.). After Margaret Robb (Summit, N.J.) put a shot on cage, Malboeuf cleaned up the rebound and tucked a shot into the right side of the net to cut Mount Holyoke's deficit to a pair.

Babson scored twice more in the second quarter to give the visitors a 5-1 cushion at the halftime break. With 9:35 on the clock, Evans ripped a shot from the top of the arch which was deflected past Katzenberg by Andrea Marguerite to make it 4-1, Beavers, before Marguerite scored her second of the contest on a great pass from Berit Sharrow before the sophomore was able to find the back of the net on a point-blank opportunity. 

The Beavers took a 6-1 lead just 3:38 into the second half as Evans capitalized on a play that was set up by McGrath before the visitors added their seventh of the contest with 10:25 to play in the game, a strike from Kayla Carleton. Off of a penalty corner, Millie Brady fired a shot on net which was originally saved, but Carleton batted the ball out of mid air and into the back of the net. 

Up next, Mount Holyoke College will travel to Worcester, Mass. for a NEWMAC battle with WPI beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 25.

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