Babson Tops Men's Soccer, 4-2

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Three first-half goals helped propel visiting Babson College to a 4-2 victory over MIT in a New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men’s soccer game on Saturday. Eric Anderson and Jimmy Stento each registered one goal and two assists for the Beavers, who improved to 13-5-1 overall and 6-0 in conference play. Christian Therkelsen paced the Engineers (8-8, 2-4 NEWMAC) with one goal and an assist.

Babson controlled the ball for most of the first half and eventually broke through in the 28th minute. Anderson crossed the ball to Stento, whose initial shot was denied on a diving stop by MIT goalie Dylan Rankin. Stento gathered the rebound and sent it to the top far corner of the net.

Just over seven minutes later the Beavers increased their lead to 2-0. Dan Fogarty struck a clearing pass from the near sideline that sailed three-quarters down the length of the field. Ayo Iwuagwu collected the ball outside the box and despite facing a pair of defenders he found Anderson for the goal.

Babson capped the first-half scoring with 1:36 left on the clock. Anderson picked up the ball at midfield and quickly touched it to Stento. The ensuing throughball was chased down by Iwuagwu who tapped in his seventh goal of the season.

With the wind at its backs, MIT’s offense came to life in the second stanza. After a pair of near misses, the Engineers ended the shutout in the 72nd minute. Kevin Chou launched a free kick at midfield which resulted in a scramble in front of the net. With the ball at the near post, Therkelsen sent it back to Zachary Kabelac for the quick strike.

The Beavers registered their final goal less than two minutes later. Dan Hixon’s low shot rolled through the box and was corralled by Stento. He then crossed the ball to Patrick Rafferty who immediately put it into the goal. MIT wrapped up the scoring with 2:08 remaining in regulation. Max Stein-Golenbock gained possession of a Babson goal kick and sent a throughball to Therkelsen who notched his ninth goal of the year.

In net, Rankin made four saves in 75 minutes of action while Javier Duarte did not face any shots in the final 15 minutes of play. Peter Crowley collected five saves in a complete-game effort for the Beavers.

Both squads return to action next week in the NEWMAC Championship Tournament. As the No. 1 seed, Babson earns a first round bye will be the site of the semifinal and championship games. MIT will take the field on Wednesday, Nov. 4 at WPI.