After graduating from Pelham Memorial High School, Claudia Dodge enrolled at Babson College signed to play women’s lacrosse. There, she and her team participated in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC). After a 3-1 regular season this spring, her team went on May 1 to win the conference championship 22-4 against Springfield, Babson’s long-time rival. 

“Because our goal for the past two years has been to win a NEWMAC championship and beat our rival, Springfield, there was a different buzz surrounding that game,” Dodge said. “We started off the game so strong and that propelled us throughout the game to make such a commanding lead early on. Winning the NEWMAC championship was such an amazing feeling. It made all the challenges we faced, and all the hard work and dedication pay off. We lost to Springfield, our biggest rival, in overtime in our first game of the season, so we were ready to fight for the NEWMAC title, and we all wanted it so badly. We came out so strong and ended up winning 22-4, which was unexpected, being that the last game was so close, but it really showed how we grew as a team throughout the season despite everything we faced, which was such a great thing to see.” 

Throughout her season, Dodge has been responsible for 12 goals. During NEWMAC play, she scored 4 points for her team, ranking 26th in the conference. Her shots on goal percentage was high as well: 88% overall, and 100% during conference play. 

Reflecting on how her passion for lacrosse came to be, Dodge said, “I started lacrosse in second grade, honestly, just as another sport to try with all my friends. I didn’t really know much about lacrosse and neither did my family, but my brother was playing too, so I decided to give it a try and ended up loving it. As I got to high school and I started thinking about college, I just knew I couldn’t stop playing the sport because I loved it too much, and I’m so excited I have two more years here at Babson, and I can’t wait to fight for another NEWMAC championship in the future.”

Despite Covid, the players, the team and the coaches have made the most of the year, she said. “There was so much uncertainty surrounding this season, and we all faced so many challenges individually and as a team, but because of the uncertainty that we often faced, we knew we had to always give it our all in every practice, lift or game because we never knew (if) that could be our last. With that mentality, we continued to grow throughout the season and get better every day because we were really pushing ourselves to be our best and give it our all at all times.” 

On May 9, Babson played in the NCAA tournament, falling to The College of New Jersey 21-9.

Despite the loss, Dodge said, “We still gave it our all and played the best lacrosse we could. But I think the NEWMAC championship meant something more to us and that the opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament was just an added bonus to the season, and we were lucky enough to have our season continue and play against such a strong program. A win against TCNJ in the NCAA tournament would be the one thing I would change, but honestly, we played and fought against a top 20 team for the full 60 minutes, and I think the scoreboard does not reflect the way we played and the heart and hustle we put out on the field, so I am proud of my team for that and wouldn’t change anything but getting a win so we could move on to the sweet 16.”