BABSON PARK, Mass.—Senior Matias Guttierez (Coral Gables, Fla.) broke a scoreless deadlock in the 82nd minute to help No. 11 Babson College defeat visiting St. John Fisher University, 1-0, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at Hartwell-Rogers Field. 

Babson, which has won eight consecutive games, advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021. St. John Fisher suffered its first loss in the last 10 matches and sees its season come to a close at 11-5-5 overall. 

Graduate student James Donaldson (Kirkland, Quebec) picked up an assist and senior goalkeeper Walker White (Coral Gables, Fla.) made three saves to record his 10th shutout of the year for the Beavers. 

Graduate student Christian Burkhart (Rochester, N.Y.) finished the afternoon with eight saves for the Cardinals. 

Following a free kick deep in the defensive third, senior Liam Rhatigan (Holderness, N.H.) flicked a long pass from graduate student Marco Cerezo (Malaga, Spain) towards Donaldson, who drove into the box before sliding a pass across the front of goal for Gutierrez, who one-touched it past Burkhart for his fifth goal of the year. 

The Beavers outshot St. John Fisher 11-2 in the opening half but White was called upon to make a pair of terrific saves to keep the visitors off the board. He punched away a 23-yard free kick by senior Joey Avallone (Southampton, N.Y.) that was headed for the upper right corner in the 23rd minute and then backtracked to push senior Adam Grover's (Warsaw, N.Y.) shot from distance along the left sideline just over the crossbar in the 31st minute. 

Babson graduate student Kento Abe (Quincy, Mass.) missed just wide of the right post with a curling shot from inside the box in the 21st minute, and classmate Lorenzo Mancini (Franklin, Mass.) intercepted a poor back pass in the 43rd minute but had his chip pushed out of play by Burkhart, who was forced out to the top of the box. Graduate student Samuel Kalishman (Clarksville, Md.) also sent a header just over the frame in the 52nd minute. 

The Beavers finished with a 16-4 edge in shots, including a 9-3 margin on target, and a 9-6 advantage in corner kicks. 

Babson will now face Wesleyan, which defeated Saint Joseph (Conn.) 2-0 on Saturday, in a second round match on Sunday at 1 p.m. 

About the NEWMAC

The NEWMAC is an association of 12 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with four Associate Members: Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), while sponsoring 20 sports.