NEW LONDON, Conn.—First-year Connor Hanrahan (Warrenville, Ill.) broke a scoreless deadlock with his 71st-minute goal to help Babson College defeat SUNY Oneonta, 1-0, in the round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Freeman Field. 

Babson, which has won three straight matches and is unbeaten in its last four, improves to 11-6-4 overall and advances out of the opening round for the second year in a row. Oneonta sees its season come to a close at 12-5-4. 

Junior Alexander Yablonovskiy (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) picked up an assist and sophomore goalkeeper JB Montague (Lutz, Fla.) made four saves for the Beavers. 

Junior goalkeeper James Citron (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) finished with seven saves for the Red Dragons. 

After creating a number of opportunities early in the second half, Hanrahan gave the Green and White the only goal it would need with 19:15 remaining. First-year Will Boecher's (Wellesley, Mass.) thru ball for Hanrahan was knocked away, but Yablonovskiy regained possession and drove towards the end line on the left side of the area before slipping a pass to Hanrahan, who flicked his first touch past Citron from inside the six-yard box for his fourth goal of the year. 

Citron made a terrific diving save at the left post on Yablonovskiy in the 26th minute and made an outstanding stop to get a hand on a volley from close range by Babson junior Titus Charles (San Tan Valley, Ariz.) in the 50th minute. He also denied four shots in the span of seven minutes before the goal and caught a break when Yablonovskiy chipped a shot just over the bar in the 61st minute. 

Montague came off his line to cut down the angle on fifth-year senior Luigi Prosperi (Lynbrook, N.Y.) in the 53rd minute and made his best save of the afternoon in the 83rd minute when he stepped off his line to grab a driving header by first-year Noah Hechler (Somers, N.Y.) with traffic in front of him following a corner. 

The Beavers finished with an 18-12 edge in shots and a slim 5-4 advantage in corner kicks in the match. 

Babson will face No. 7 Connecticut College, the defending Division III runner-up, in the second round 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 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.