NEW LONDON, Conn. — 

After Nick Yorgason (Pleasant View, Utah) gave the Bears a 1-0 lead in the 52nd minute, Babson was able to equalize in the 63rd off of a penalty kick rebound to cement their spot as the second seed in the upcoming New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Championship Tournament on Saturday's last day of the regular season.

The two sides entered the game just a point apart on the league table and knowing what was at stake. If Coast Guard won, they'd jump Babson from third to second and earn an automatic bye and hosting privileges to the conference tournament semifinals, while all the Beavers needed to do to keep things as they were was force a tie.

After a scoreless 51 minutes, the Bears were able to make some noise. After the Beavers won their own goal kick at midfield and attempted to clear it, senior captain Aki Freeman (San Diego, Calif.) came out of nowhere with his right leg to disrupt the long ball try. He quickly took control and played an excellent pass upfield after seeing Yorgason start a run.

The shifty and speedy sophomore beat a pursuing defender to the ball at the edge of the box by the slimmest of margins and braved the trademark Babson physicality to create some space before firing his try into the back of the net past Beavers goalkeeper JB Montague to give the home side an exciting 1-0 lead.

Babson equalized 11 minutes later. Joao Araujo got the ball for the visitors just inside the other box but was tripped up on a soft Coast Guard challenge. The head referee awarded a penalty kick for the offense, and Araujo's initial attempt was stopped by a diving Jack Putnam (Halfmoon, N.Y.). Unfortunately for the Bears, Araujo was able to beat Putnam to his feet and all other defenders to the rebound before sending it back into the more open net.

Babson outshot the Bears for the game, 13-8, and had more tries on goal with a 9-6 margin in that regard. Freeman and Cole Miller (Annapolis, Md.) both had two shot attempts each to lead the hosting side, with both of Miller's being on target. Araujo led the Beavers with five tries, all of which were on goal. Babson also held a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks.

32 fouls in total were called during the match, with Babson's trademark hardnosed style of play earning them ten whistles in each half. The Beavers were also awarded three yellow cards, and the general chippiness of the game was best illustrated when the third was awarded to Alexander Yablonovskiy for jawing at Putnam after his team tied it up.

Montague had four saves on the day, while Putnam tallied seven in his first appearance in net since the October 18th match-up with Bridgewater State.

Coast Guard finishes their regular season at 7-5-6 overall and 3-1-4 in the NEWMAC following the tie, while Babson moves to 8-6-4 on the season and 4-2-2 in the NEWMAC as both teams set their sights on postseason action. The Bears will start it out by hosting six-seed Springfield College (7-9-1, 3-4-1) in the first round of the NEWMAC Championship Tournament on Tuesday, November 4th, at 6 pm. The Pride burned the Bears earlier in the week, 1-0, to take their regular season match-up in Springfield.