Goalie's 16 Saves Not Enough to Rescue Gophers

CLERMONT, Fla. — Despite a career-high 16-save performance by sophomore goalkeeper Bridget Den Boer (Sparta, N.J./Sparta), Goucher dropped a 10-8 battle with Babson today at the National Training Center.

The Gophers had answers to the first two goals the Beavers (2-2) scored. An unassisted goal by Sophie Smith (Lawrenceville, N.J./Madison) 10:25 into the contest created a 1-1 tie and an unassisted tally by Jojo Franklin (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver School) evened the score at 2-2 with just over eight minutes remaining before halftime.

Babson, which finished with a 37-15 advantage in shots, scored the final three goals of the first half and the first two of the second period to open up a 7-2 lead. But the Beavers were never able to pull away from the Gophers (2-4), who reduced their deficit to two goals on three separate occasions.

Smith and Franklin were the leading scorers for Goucher with three apiece. Stefi Perry (Houston, Texas/Klein) and Dani McCreary (Upper Marlboro, Md./Bishop McNamara) accounted for the other two goals, while Jessica Borucki (Westminster, Md./North Carroll) was awarded the team's only assist.

Five of the saves Den Boer made were on free-position shots by the Beavers.

Goucher next takes on the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts on Thursday. The game will be played at the National Training Center, starting at 10 a.m.