BABSON PARK, Mass.—Junior Nicole Merigliano scored twice in final 8:14 to help Union College rally with three unanswered goals to stun No. 20 Babson College 5-4 in non-conference field hockey action on Sunday afternoon at MacDowell Field.
 
Merigliano sandwiched her goals around sophomore Hannah Najar's tally to help the Dutchwomen erase a late 4-2 deficit and push their record to 4-7. The loss snapped the Beavers' six-game winning streak and drops them to 9-3 overall.
 
In a first half filled with scoring opportunities, Union produced the game's first two scoring chances in the opening five minutes. Just 68 seconds into the action Merigliano took a centering pass from first-year Molly Cohen and fed Allison Troy just outside the right post but her attempt was denied by Babson goalkeeper Kayla Florence. The junior net minder kept the game scoreless just over four minutes later as she denied senior Caroline Moran's blast off a penalty corner.
 
Shortly after the Beavers would get on the board first as junior Morgan Lockwood  took a centering pass from classmate Alex Cabreros, spun, and hit a hard shot over the shoulder of Union goalkeeper Molly McCune at the 9:28 mark to go up 1-0.
 
The Dutchwomen came right back though, tying the game just under four minutes later as sophomore Emily Finneran burst through the arc and tipped a pass from Najar past Florence to knot the game at 1-1. The deadlock was short-lived however, as junior Julia Pochini beat McCune with a 15-yard blast off a penalty corner insert from senior Kelly Walsh at 17:28, and Lockwood followed with her team leading 15^th goal of the season on a penalty stroke at 19:08 to put Babson up 3-1.
 
Union would trim the lead in half just under five minutes later as Troy scored her third goal of the season at the 23:55 mark. Merigliano started the play by drawing a penalty corner after a 50 yard run down the left side of the field. On the ensuing corner, Moran's blast from just inside the top of the arc was knocked down but Troy was able to tip home the rebound inside the right post. Two late saves by McCune, one charging off her line to deny Beavers' forward Caroline Malone, kept the score at 3-2 after 35 minutes.
 
Both teams struggled to muster any offensive punch in the early portion of the second half, but Babson appeared to take control of the game when Malone scored her ninth goal of the season, tipping home a pass from Caberos, to extend the lead to 4-2 with 17:26 remaining. However, Union would cut the deficit to 4-3 on the first of Merigliano's two goals at the 61:46 mark. First-year back Laura Pacheco hit a long ball just inside midfield that found Troy inside the arc, who redirected a pass to Merigliano at the left post to set up a frantic finish.
 
The Dutchwomen would pull even, for the first time since early in the first half, when Najar knocked home a rebound with 4:23 remaining. Following a penalty corner, Florence made a diving save to stop Troy's initial blast but Najar got a stick on the rebound to tie the game. Just 1:22 later, Merigliano put Union ahead to stay, as she gained control of a loose ball inside the arc and was able to elude Florence charging out at her before finding the open net for the game-winner.
 
McCune made nine saves to earn the win for Union while Florence made seven stops for Babson. The Beavers held a slim 14-12 advantage in shots, and an 8-3 edge in penalty corners.
 
Union is back in action on Tuesday afternoon with another non-conference match set for 4 p.m. at Hartwick, while Babson is off until Saturday when they travel to face NEWMAC-foe Smith at 1 p.m.