Game 1: No. 5 Smith 7, No. 4 Babson 14 - Final

BABSON PARK, Mass.— Sophomore Courtney Laden (Wilmette, Ill.) scored a career-high six goals and fourth-seeded Babson College outscored fifth-seeded Smith College 3-0 in the final 10 minutes to produce a 14-7 victory in a NEWMAC women's lacrosse tournament quarterfinal game Saturday afternoon at MacDowell Field.

With their fourth straight victory, the Beavers improve to 11-6 overall and move on to the semifinals for the 10th consecutive season. Smith saw its season come to a close with a 10-8 overall record.

Laden added three draw controls to her totals, while graduate student Livy Kehoe (Harvard, Mass.) contributed four draw controls and five ground balls. Senior Lilly Bedard (Jupiter, Fla.) tallied two goals and three assists, and junior Jen Austin (Farmington, Conn.) added two goals, one assist and two ground balls in the victory. First-year Grace Rooney (Milton, Mass.) chipped in with three draw controls and three caused turnovers, and sophomore Charleigh Newman (Woodbury, Conn.) was good for three caused turnovers and four ground balls.

Senior Caroline Sanders (Trabuco, Calif.) led the Bears with three goals and an assist, along with a game-high seven draw controls and a pair of caused turnovers. Sophomore Jenna Paczkowski (Jupiter, Fla.) scored twice, junior Leigh Hillmanno (Yardville, N.J.) had a team-high three caused turnovers, and senior Brooke Testa (Pittstown, N.J.) was outstanding in goal with a season-high 15 saves, along with five ground balls.

The Beavers came out strong with three goals in the opening 10 minutes, one each from Laden, Austin, and a woman-up goal by senior Tatum Sands (East Dorset, Vt.). Paczkowski put the Bears on the scoreboard with four minutes to go in the first quarter, but Babson scored the next four to open up a 7-1 lead early in the second. First-year Jenna Wong (Walpole, Mass.) and Rooney had one each in the surge, and Laden added a pair for the Beavers.

Paczkowski scored her second goal to stop the bleeding, but Austin and Bedard pushed the lead up to 9-2 with five minutes to go in the half. Sophomore Layna Fitzgerals (Indianapolis, Calif.) and Sanders answered for Smith to slice the margin to 9-4 by halftime.

Laden and Bedard tacked on goals to start the third quarter, but Smith refused to give in and answered with three straight goals of their own. Sanders tallied a pair and junior Kyra Hawk (San jose, Calif.) added one as Smith climbed to within four goals at 11-7 early in the fourth quarter.

That would be the end of the comeback attempts for the Bears as Babson scored the final three goals, one by first-year Hailey Murray (Swarthmore, Pa.) and two more from Laden so seal the victory.

Babson finished with a 41-14 advantage in shots, while forcing the visitors into 29 turnovers. The Green and White also had a 33-20 edge in ground balls and won 14 of the 23 draws in the game.

The Beavers will play at top-seeded MIT on Wednesday in the semifinals at 6 p.m. in Cambridge.

Game 2: No. 6 Wheaton 5, No. 3 Springfield 15 - Final

Springfield, Mass. -  The Springfield College women's lacrosse team defeated Wheaton (Mass.) in the first round of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament on Saturday afternoon on Stagg Field, 15-5. 

The Pride improve to 11-6 overall as the Lyons end their season at 11-7. 

Claire Ognibene (New Canaan, Conn.) and Payton Imhof (Bayshore, N.Y.) led the Pride with four goals apiece as Ognibene also added three assists and three ground balls. Lily Johnson (Oceanside, N.Y.) tallied three caused turnovers, three assists, two goals, and two ground balls. Izzy Lalancette (Feeding Hills, Mass.) picked up four ground balls as Sarah Newton (Colchester, Conn.) registered six draw controls. Between the pipes, Lindsay Hillemeir (Unionville, Conn.) made seven saves. 

The Lyons scored less than two minutes into the game before Johnson found Kristyn Vasselin (Hudson, Mass.) who netted the equalizer for Springfield. Imhof then added one to give Springfield the lead, to which they never looked back. Ognibene then tacked on another before Jessica Chamberlin scored a man-up goal at 2:46 as Springfield held the 3-2 lead. 

In the second quarter, Springfield held Wheaton scoreless while scoring four more goals. Johnson had two goals for the Pride while Vasselin and Ognibene each added another as Springfield took a 7-2 lead going into the halftime break. 

Springfield continued to dominate the final two quarters as the Pride outscored the Lyons 8-3 and were 8-for-12 on shots on goal. Wheaton scored back-to-back goals in the third quarter before the Pride exploded for seven straight goals through the fourth before the Lyons added the final goal at 4:08 and Springfield got the win, 15-5. 

Springfield held an edge in shots (32-17), ground balls (21-15), and draw controls (14-8) while going 15-for-18 on the clear. 

The Pride will face second-seeded Coast Guard on Wednesday in New London, Conn.

Game 3: No. 7 Salve Regina 5, No. 2 Coast Guard 12- Final

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Hosting the NEWMAC quarterfinal as the number two seed, Coast Guard defeated number seven Salve Regina in a rematch of Wednesday night. The Seahawks finish their 2026 campaign with an 8-9 record.

The game this afternoon started much like it did on Wednesday, with Salve controlling the pace and keeping the Bears in check. In a low-scoring quarter, the Seahawks scored the first two goals to take a 2-0 lead under the six-minute mark in the first. The Bears' answer came when Rileigh Leary (Holden, MA) found Elizabeth Pearcy (Philadelphia, PA) for a goal. Pearcy had a big day off the bench for the Bears, adding two assists with her goal along with a team leading four ground balls. One of those assists came just two minutes after her goal when she assisted on the Hannah Warnke (Lincoln, NE) game-tying goal. The two goals a piece were all the scoring that was done in the first quarter.

The second was equally as low scoring as the first, but this time the Bears out-scored Salve 3-1. Rookie of the Year candidate Joely Schaumloffel (Remsenburg, NY) broke through to give the Bears their first lead of the afternoon on an assist from Rileigh Leary. They extended that lead to two goals with Pearcy staying red hot with a nifty assist to senior Isabella Judge (Buffalo, NY). After Madison Maire scored her second goal for the Seahawks, Abby McAllister (Pleasantville, NY) found the net for the first time in the day with a free-position shot. McAllister was the focal point of the Salve defense all day, seeing herself doubled and sometimes triple teamed throughout the action.

Out of the half, Coast Guard made their run and delivered the dagger. The third quarter saw four Coast Guard goals and none from Salve. The incredible Bears defense forced 11 turnovers in the quarter and did not allow a single shot. On the game, senior captain Rowan Walsh (Hampstead, MD) led all Bears with three caused turnovers, but the team effort on defense with seven behind her, each with two including fellow defenders Gabriella Kraus-Rivera (West Linn, OR), Ella Campbell (Foxborough, MA), Lauren Henry (Monroe, CT), and Lane Donahoe (Annapolis, MD). While not recording an official CT, junior defender Cate Yurko (Oakton, VA) was a wall for the Bears, showing her toughness and giving a dominant effort in contribution to the CGA masterclass in front of their crease. 

The four third-quarter goals that sealed the deal for the Bears came from Joely Schaumloffel (x2), Taylor Thorne (Edgewater, MD), and Isabella Judge. For Thorne and Judge, each of their goals was assisted by a classmate, the freshman Thorne by fellow 4/c Joely Schaumloffel and senior Judge by 1/c Abby McAllister.

Despite scoring twice in the fourth, the six goal lead proved too much to overcome for Salve Regina with a 12-5 final to give the Bears a home date in the NEWMAC tournament semifinals.

Coast Guard edged out Salve in the draw control battle (12-5) with Taylor Thorne and Ella Campbell combining for 10. In goal, it was two completely different stories despite both keepers playing great games. Seahawks keeper Mary Flynn Kayajan was peppered all game long, making 11 saves, the 10th time this season the sophomore has made double digit saves. Kailee Heron (West Islip, NY) in turn only had to make two saves thanks to her wall of defense in front of her. One of those saves, however, came in impressive fashion just two minutes into the action to set the tone for the whole game. Heron would also cause a turnover and come up with three ground balls. Tied with Heron behind Elizabeth Pearcy for second in ground balls were two defenders: Ella Campbell and Rowan Walsh. For Walsh, the three GBs meant history, as now Rowan joins the exclusive 100 ground ball club at CGA as just the 5th ever to do so.

With the win, Coast Guard improves to their already record-breaking season, now at 13-2. The #2 Bears will host #3 Springfield College on Wednesday, April 29th at 6:00 PM for a chance at the NEWMAC title game. Springfield College advanced to the semifinal with a 15-5 win over Wheaton College today. Earlier this season, when they played, Coast Guard defeated Springfield by a score of 11-6.

About the NEWMAC

The NEWMAC is an association of 13 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Saint Anselm College (beginning reclassification process with NCAA in 2027-28), 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 21 sports.