GENEVA, N.Y.-The No. 17 Hobart lacrosse team led for most of the first half against ECAC front-runner Fairfield, but managed just a single tally in the second half, as the Stags rallied for a 9-7 victory at McCooey Field this afternoon. Fairfield outscored the Statesmen 5-1 in the second half.

Hobart had the advantage all over the box score-shots (36-30), faceoffs (12-6), ground balls (30-20), and clears (14-of-16 vs. 15-of-25)-except where it matter most. First-year goalie Charlie Cipriano was a difference maker for the Stags, logging 12 saves, including five in the fourth quarter.

The Statesmen (5-3, 1-2 ECAC) got off to a fast start thanks to unassisted tallies by junior attackman Kevin Curtin (Corcoran/Syracuse, NY) and sophomore midfielder Nick Blumer (CNS/Cicero, NY) just over three minutes into the game. Fairfield (5-2, 3-0) settled down after the bumpy start and drew even on goals by first-year attackman John Snellman (Norwalk/Norwalk, CT) and sophomore midfielder Ryan Mulford (Mt. St. Joe's/Crownsville, Md.), the latter just four seconds before the end of the opening quarter.

Hobart again hit the gas on offense to start the second quarter. Sophomore long-stick midfielder collected the opening faceoff and scored just 10 seconds in. Less than a minute and a half later, Curtin scored again, assisted by senior midfielder Matt Smalley (Avon Old Farms/Cumberland, RI), for a 4-2 lead. Smalley finished with a game-high five ground balls.

The teams traded goals through the rest of the way to send the Statesmen into halftime with a 6-4 lead.

In the third quarter, Fairfield netted consecutive scores by sophomore attackman Chris Trombino (St. Anthony's/Huntington, NY) and sophomore midfielder Matt Lanzaro (Norwalk/Norwalk, CT) to tie the game with 7:05 left in the frame.

Hobart reclaimed the lead 90 seconds later when junior midfielder Tyler Cassell (Salisbury School/Geneva, NY) scored his team-leading 13th goal on senior attackman Jeff Colburn's (CNS/Liverpool, NY) team-leading 13th assist. The goal was the final tally of the contest for the Statesmen.

The lead was short-lived as Stags' senior defenseman Matt Petre (Somers/Somers, NY) scooped up the ensuing faceoff, raced to the cage, and scored his first goal of the season. Fairfield grabbed its first lead with 1:51 to go in the third when senior midfielder Chris Ajemian (Duxbury/Duxbury, Mass.) set up Mulford for an extra-man goal, his third tally of the game.

Cipriano shined in the fourth quarter, including a point-blank robbery of junior midfielder Mike Lazore (Immaculate Heart/Carthage, NY) with 3:23 to go. First-year attackman Mike Esposito (Bellport/Bellport, NY) sealed the victory with his first goal of the season on an empty cage with junior goalie Max Silberlicht (New Hartford/New Hartford, NY) out of the crease on the 10-man ride.

Silberlicht finished with nine saves.

* * * *

The Fairfield University men's lacrosse team scored the final three goals of the game to remain undefeated in ECAC Lacrosse League play with a 9-7 win over #17 Hobart College on Saturday afternoon. The Stags, winners of three straight, improve to 5-2 overall and 3-0 in league play, while the Statesmen fall to 5-3 on the year and 1-2 in ECAC action.

It marks the first time in the Stags four seasons in the ECAC that they have opened league play with three straight wins. The three-game ECAC win streak is also the first in the Stags history, having not won three straight league games since doing so twice during the 1999 season as members of the MAAC Lacrosse League.

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2009-03-28