Saturday’s D-III Finals: MIT Host Babson, Johns Hopkins Face Swarthmore
Saturday is finals day in Division III, and two of the biggest names in the division are hosting.
In the NEWMAC, MIT host Babson at noon ET (10 p.m. PKT) at Jack Barry Field in Cambridge. MIT are the top seeds, and they earned the home final by beating Smith 3-0 on Thursday. All three goals came after half-time. Remy Caspar opened it from a penalty stroke at 32:52, Meredith Wu made it two at 48:15, and Grace Chrapowitzky finished it off at 56:16 from Ingrid Tomovski. MIT outshot Smith 20-4 and won the corner count 15-1. This is their ninth final in ten seasons, so they know the road.
Babson won’t be overawed. The Beavers, ranked 17th nationally and the second seeds, beat Wellesley 3-0 in the other semi to reach the final. They’d won their last five games by a combined 36-1 going into Thursday, and they beat Wellesley 6-0 back in September, with Lauren Golden and Helen DiGiovanni scoring two each. Both sides are 14-6 now, and the final is at the home of the top seed. MIT will fancy it. Babson have the form to spoil it.
The Centennial final is at the same time, noon ET, at Homewood Field in Baltimore, where No. 9 Johns Hopkins host No. 15 Swarthmore. Hopkins beat No. 12 Franklin & Marshall 2-1 in Thursday’s semi, with Sophia Albano scoring both goals. It’s their ninth straight Centennial final, and their 17th overall. Swarthmore’s route was pure drama. They beat No. 13 Ursinus 2-1 in overtime, with Castle scoring the golden goal with one second left on the clock. Ursinus had played eight overtime games this season, and this one finally broke the wrong way.
Both winners take their conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Division III tournament, which starts on Wednesday, 11 November. Two finals, two hosts, and two favourites with everything to lose.
