BABSON PARK, Mass.— Junior Grace Mullaney (Boxford, Mass.) scored the go-ahead goal with 21 seconds left in the third quarter, and No. 3 Babson College held on to defeat No. 16 Bowdoin College, 2-1, in the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Tournament second round Saturday afternoon at MacDowell Field.

With their 17th consecutive victory, the Beavers advance to the tournament quarterfinals against either No. 7 Wesleyan or No. 12 Hamilton on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Babson Park. Bowdoin completes its season at 10-8.

Senior Caroline DiGiovanni (Harwich, Mass.) scored the opening goal of the game for the Beavers, first-year goalie Madison Tibbals (Gorham, Maine) made five saves in goal, and sophomore Lauren Golden (New Albany, Ohio) made a key defensive save in the fourth quarter for the Green and White to preserve the victory.

Junior Emily Ferguson (Shrewsbury, Mass.) scored for the Polar Bears with an assist from first-year Fei Yang-Sady (Concord, Mass.). Senior Lauren O'Donald (West Springfield, Mass.) made four of her five saves for Bowdoin in the first quarter.

DiGiovanni wasted little time in putting the Beavers on the board with her team-leading 25th goal of the season. She collected a loose ball in the scoring zone with her back to the goal, spun around and fired a long shot through traffic and past O'Donald to give Babson a 1-0 lead just 2:22 into the contest.

The Beavers kept the pressure on Bowdoin, putting four shots on goal in three minutes, but O'Donald kept the Polar Bears within one. Junior Clara Noyes (Lexington, Mass.) connected on Bowdoin's first shot on goal in the 11th minute, and the Polar Bears earned three penalty corners in the final four minutes of the stanza, but could not convert.

The defenses were dominant in the second quarter as Bowdoin took all three shots between the two teams in the frame. Tibbals denied Yang-Sady on a pair of shots before the Polar Bears capitalized on a penalty corner. Yang-Sady fired a shot from the right side and Ferguson deflected the ball in front of the goal up and over Tibbals in the 23rd minute for her team-leading 15th goal and leveling the score at 1-1.

Babson was able to overcome two yellow cards and a green card in the third quarter and took the lead after a penalty corner late in the frame. McDonald made a nice save on sophomore Penny Baroni (Dennis, Mass.) after the insertion from Mullaney, but Mullaney retrieved the rebound and snuck a reverse shot inside the left post with just 22 seconds remaining in the third.

After Bowdoin withstood a Babson penalty corner to start the fourth quarter, the Polar Bears had several opportunities of their own. The best chances came from sophomore Hannah Balmelli (Lake Forest, Ill.) who got off three shots in the 56th minute, but Tibbals stopped two of them, and Golden denied the other to keep the one-goal lead for the Beavers.

Bowdoin finished with a 10-8 advantage in total shots and a 6-3 margin in corners, but shots on target were tied at 7 each.

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 eight Associate Members: Brandeis University (Women's Lacrosse, 2026-2027), New York University (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), SUNY New Paltz (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), and Vassar College (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), while sponsoring 20 sports.