GENEVA, N.Y.-The Hobart College lacrosse team defeated Hartford 13-4 in its first home contest of the season this afternoon on McCooey Field. The Statesmen improve to 1-1 on the season, while the Hawks fall to 0-2 overall. Hobart has now won 13 of 14 home openers since moving to Division I in 1995, including the last 12 in a row.

Leading the Statesmen offense were seniors Nick Currie (Corning East/Corning, N.Y.) and Jamie Kirk (Salisbury School/Orangeville, Ontario), with three goals and four assists, respectively. Senior Sean Murphy (Bishop Timon-St. Jude/Buffalo, N.Y.) added a goal and two helpers, while sophomore Tyler Cassell (Salisbury School/Geneva, N.Y.), junior Jeff Colburn (Cicero-North Syracuse/Liverpool, N.Y.), and first-year Ryan Liebel (Avon Old Farms/Longmeadow, Mass.) each tallied twice for Hobart.

The Hawks were led by junior Jacob Eustice (Orchard Park/Orchard Park, N.Y.) with two goals and an assist. Sophomore Justin Bearse (Barnstable/Hyannis, Mass.) notched one of each, while first-year Vinnie Pellizzi (Connetquot/Bohemia, N.Y.) also added a goal for the visitors.

Colburn started the scoring with his first goal at 12 minutes, 56 seconds of the first quarter. The Hawks answered with their first goal just 37 seconds later, as Eustice found the back of the net for his first tally of the day. Colburn struck again at the 7:02 mark, putting the Statesmen up 2-1, and giving Hobart the lead for good.

The Statesmen scored four more times in the first stanza, and held a 6-1 lead at the first break. Currie scored all three of his goals in succession. He tallied the Statesmen's last two goals of the first period, and notched another goal just 41 seconds into the second quarter.

Hobart outscored the Hawks 4-1 in the second period. Even sophomore goalie Max Silberlicht (New Hartford/New Hartford, N.Y.) got in on the action, sneaking in a long shot to give the hosts a 10-1 advantage at 7:57.

The Statesmen owned a 10-2 lead at halftime, and went on to score one goal in the third quarter, and two more in the fourth.

Silberlicht earned the win in goal with six saves, while counterpart Jon McMahon (Sweet Home/Tonawanda, N.Y.) collected 21 saves in net for the Hawks. Junior Brad Hester (The Gunnery/Woodbridge, Va.) and first-year Evan Kirk (Salisbury School/Orangeville, Ontario) also saw time in goal for Hobart today, combining for five saves.

Hobart outshot its visitors 44-36, and picked up 40 groundballs to Hartford's 26.

The Statesmen will be back in action on March 8, as they host St. Joseph's (Pa.) at 1:00 p.m.

Score by Period       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Hartford............  1  1  1  1 -  4
Hobart..............  6  4  1  2 - 13

Hartford SCORING:
GOALS: Jacob Eustice 2; Justin Bearse 1; Vinnie Pellizzi 1.
ASSISTS: Justin Bearse 1; Jacob Eustice 1; Tom Harris 1.

Hobart SCORING:
GOALS: Nick Currie 3; Tyler Cassell 2; Jeff Colburn 2; Ryan Liebel 2; Sean Murphy 1; Mike Suits 1; Mike Lazore 1; Max Silberlicht 1.
ASSISTS: Jamie Kirk 4; Sean Murphy 2; Matt Smalley 1.

Hartford GROUND BALLS: Michael Cudmore 3; Conor Flynn 3; Justin Bearse 2; Tim Fallon 2; Chris Griffin 2; Tom Harris 2; Mark Liberti 2; Jon McMahon 2; Vinnie Pellizzi 2; Leif Abrahamson 1; Evan Bryant 1; Jacob Eustice 1; Roy Finneran 1; Brendan Marlow 1; Brian Tilley 1.

Hobart GROUND BALLS: Matt Smalley 6; Dan Spinella 6; Jamie Kirk 4; Nick Currie 3; Mike O'Brien 3; Marcus Craigwell 2; Ricky Evans 2; Lex Kridler 2; Ryan Liebel 2; Tyler Cassell 1; Kevin Curtin 1; Justin Hager 1; Tyler Hill 1; Chris Hurley 1; Daniel Keegan 1; Warren Kimber 1; Rafe Mattingly 1; Doug Shiver 1; Mike Suits 1.

Hartford TURNOVERS CAUSED: None.
Hobart TURNOVERS CAUSED: None.

SHOTS - Hartford 36; Hobart 44.
SHOTS ON GOAL - Hartford 15; Hobart 34.

PENALTIES - Hartford 5/3:30; Hobart 7/5:00.
MAN-UP OPPORTUNITIES - Hartford 1-6; Hobart 0-4.

2008-03-01