No. 4 Babson 5, No. 1 MIT 17 - Final  

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Top-seeded and nationally ranked No. 24 MIT outscored No. 4 seed Babson College, 9-1, in the first half before going on to defeat the Beavers, 17-5, in the semifinals of the NEWMAC Women's Lacrosse Championship on Wednesday night. With the win, the Engineers will be making their fourth straight appearance in the title game and fifth overall.
 
Ashley Thomas generated two goals and five assists for MIT, helping her break the program record for points in a season as her tally of 125 eclipsed the mark of 123 which she set in 2024. Tatum Sands posted two goals and one assist to lead Babson.
 
MIT scored the first five goals of the game, with three occurring during the first quarter. Alexis Reinard put the Engineers on the board courtesy of a free position goal at the 10:50 mark, and then she set up Gwen Flusche midway through the frame. Annica Lam increased the hosts' cushion after connecting on a pass from Thomas with one minute remaining.

Thomas was a factor in the next two goals as she earned an assist on a blast by Nina Petulla and followed this up with a free position goal with 11:38 on the clock in the second quarter. Margaux Boneu ended the shutout 24 seconds later with a player advantage goal that was set up by Jen Austin. MIT responded with four unanswered goals as Flusche and Lam alternated the tallies to enter halftime with a 9-1 advantage.

Babson found the back of the net 2:38 into the second half when Sands buried a player advantage goal on a pass from Lilly Bedard. The Engineers replied with four goals in a row, moving the score to 13-2. Petulla, Flusche, and Thomas each converted their free position attempts while Reinard redirected a feed from Petulla. Sands ended the scoring drought on a pass from Grace Rooney with 1:12 left in the period.

Sands carried the momentum into the fourth quarter as she found Jenna Wong for a player advantage goal after 49 seconds expired. MIT put together another four-goal burst, capped by a player advantage goal from Sophia Loiselle that was set up by Maeve McGinnis with 1:42 to go. The Beavers recorded the final goal of the night, a player down blast by Bedard with 20 seconds remaining.

Flusche totaled five goals, eight draw controls, four groundballs, and three caused turnovers as Reinard finished with two goals, three assists, and two groundballs.

Lam posted four goals as Petulla notched two goals, one assist, and five draw controls.

Loralei Quinn generated three groundballs and two caused turnovers while Mairin Anderson registered five draw controls and two caused turnovers.

In net, Pauline Vien made 10 saves in 55 minutes as Molly Dulde closed out the game with one save.

Bedard had one goal and one assist, while Mackenzie Cassler and Courtney Laden both recorded two caused turnovers and two draw controls.

Francesca Tamburini produced two saves and one groundball in 22 minutes, Valentina Erigoyen followed with one save in 13 minutes, and Morgan McGahan notched two saves and two groundballs down the stretch.

MIT will host No. 2 U.S. Coast Guard Academy in the NEWMAC Championship game on Saturday, May 2 at 1:00 PM. This will be the second postseason meeting between both programs. The Engineers defeated the Bears, 16-6, in the semifinals in 2023.

No. 3 Springfield 8, No. 2 Coast Guard 12 - Final 

New London, Conn.  Second-seeded Coast Guard Academy downed the third-seeded Springfield College, 12-8, in the semifinal round of the 2026 NEWMAC Championship Tournament on Wednesday evening at Cadet Memorial Field.

Coast Guard, now 14-2 on the season and the 28th-ranked team in the NCAA Power Index (NPI), will move on to the NEWMAC title game for the first time in program history on Saturday at top-seeded MIT. Springfield sees its season end with a record of 11-7.

Joely Schaumloffel and Abby McAllister combined for nine of Coast Guard's 12 goals on the night. McAllister ended the night with eight points with four goals and four assists, while Schaumloffel posted seven points with five goals and two assists. Springfield's offense was powered by Lily Johnson, who contributed three goals for the Pride. Both Payton Imhof and Sarah Newton tallied two goals apiece as well.

As a team, Coast Guard held the edge in shots (25-20) and draw controls (15-7). The Bears also scored four times playing a man-up. The Pride went 16-for-21 on the clear and scored four times on free position attempts. 

Springfield erased an early two-goal deficit with three straight goals on free position shots. Ognibene got the scoring started for the Pride before Johnson and Imhof ended up giving Springfield a 3-2 edge through 15 minutes of play.

Coast Guard equalized early in the second and over the next 12 minutes outscored Springfield by a 4-1 margin. Over the stretch, Schaumloffel scored three times for the Bears before Imhof cut the run, finishing a pass from Newton. Coast Guard entered halftime with a 6-5 advantage. 

Over the opening 30 minutes, the host Bears held a 14-11 edge in shots and won seven of 12 draws, but it was Lindsay Hillemeir, who kept Springfield in the game, making five saves for the Pride in the first half.

Coast Guard had the man-advantage for two minutes early in the third quarter and scored once on the non-releasable penalty before Schaumloffel gave the Bears their largest lead of the game at 8-5.

The hosts entered the fourth up 9-7 and saw Rileigh Leary score twice in the span of 60 seconds, including once on the man-advantage to push Coast Guard ahead by four at 11-7. Newton scored her second of the game midway through the fourth, but Schaumloffel notched her fifth of the game less than a minute later as Coast Guard won, 12-8.

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.