WELLESLEY, Mass. – No. 4 seed Wellesley College field hockey (10-9 Overall, 4-5 NEWMAC) earned a 4-1 victory against No. 5 seed Salve Regina University (11-8 Overall, 4-5 NEWMAC) in the NEWMAC Field Hockey Championship Quarterfinal on Tuesday at Butler Stadium.

Wellesley now advances to the Semifinal Round. The Blue will play at No. 1 seed Babson College (16-3 Overall, 9-0 NEWMAC) on Thursday, November 7 at 6 p.m. The Blue last played in the NEWMAC semifinals in 2021. 

Wellesley sophomore Katie Golla (Oak Park, Ill.) put the home team on the board with a reverse shot in front of the cage at the 7:16 mark of the opening frame. 

Three minutes into the second quarter, Wellesley doubled its lead with a goal by first-year Claudia Summers (San Diego, Calif.) who carried the ball down the right side and then around a defender to set up the scoring chance. 

Salve Regina broke through, less than two minutes later, when junior Julia Decker (Newton, N.J.) scored off a feed from junior Georgia Costello (North Easton, Mass.).

The Blue regained a two-goal lead by taking advantage of a penalty corner in the 23rd minute. Golla sent a pass from the left side to senior Sara Maniscalco (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) who ripped a shot towards goal that deflected off a defender into the upper corner of the cage for the 3-1 halftime lead. 

Wellesley outshot Salve Regina 15-3 (10-2 on target) in the first half and took three corners. 

Sophomore Alex Butulis (Raleigh, N.C.) tacked on a goal for Wellesley 5:08 into the third for a 4-1 Blue lead. 

First-year Hannah Simmonds (Austin, Texas) earned the win in a postseason debut with two saves for Wellesley. Senior Bryn Protheroe (Glastonbury, Conn.) finished the game with 14 saves for the Seahawks. 

The Blue ended the contest with a 26-4 margin in shots (18-3 on target) and a 5-0 edge in corners.