BABSON PARK, Mass.—Senior Liam Goldstein (Princeton, N.J.) scored the only goal of the match in the 66th minute to help second-seeded Babson College defeat fifth-seeded WPI, 1-0, in the NEWMAC Tournament final on Saturday afternoon at Hartwell-Rogers Field.
 
Babson, which improves to 10-6-4 on the year, captured its second consecutive NEWMAC Tournament championship and its fifth since 2019. The Beavers also punched their ticket to their sixth straight NCAA Tournament. WPI had its three-game winning streak snapped and sees its season come to an end at 8-7-5 overall.
 
Senior Joao Araujo (Boca Raton, Fla.) and junior Alexander Yablonovskiy (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) each recorded an assist for the Beavers. Sophomore JB Montague (Lutz, Fla.) made four saves to post his sixth shutout of the year. 
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Savio Ketnouvong (Paxton, Mass.) also stopped four shots in defeat for the Engineers.
 
Goldstein’s goal came just minutes after Ketnouvong and the WPI defense withstood a flurry of Babson chances. Ketnouvong came charging off his line to deny Yablonovskiy’s shot from inside 10 yards and then made a diving save going to his left on junior Titus Charles (San Tan Valley, Ariz.), who tried to place the rebound inside the right post in the 62nd minute.
 
Goldstein, who claimed NEWMAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors, broke through just over three minutes later though, netting his second goal of the year to put the Green and White in front. Yablonovskiy got a foot on Araujo’s pass into the box, and Goldstein found the upper corner with a right-footed finish to make it 1-0.
 
WPI’s best scoring chance of the afternoon came in the 84th minute, but Montague tracked a bending shot from 25 yards by junior Eli Marden (Shelburne, Vt.) and went to ground for a diving stop at the left post. The Engineers earned two corner kicks over the final five minutes but were unable to put a shot on target.
 
The Beavers finished with an 11-6 edge in shots, and both teams attempted three corner kicks in the match. The sides also combined for 28 fouls on the day.
 
Babson will find out who it will face in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament during the Division III selection show on Monday at 11:30 a.m. on NCAA.com.

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.