Box Score GENEVA, N.Y. -- The 15th-ranked Hobart College lacrosse team scored a major upset this afternoon, snapping seventh-ranked Cornell University's five-game win streak by a score of 14-10. The win was the fifth for the Statesmen in as many meetings with the Big Red. Hobart was led by the four-goal performances of junior attackman Jamie Breslin (Mountain Lakes/Mountain Lakes, N.J.) and junior midfielder Jason Ouellet (Avon Old Farms/Cheshire, Conn.).
Hobart (6-4) got off to a hot start, notching the game's first three scores. Junior midfielder Joe Leska (Vestal/Vestal, N.Y.) opened the scoring at the 13:23 mark. Three minutes later, senior midfielder Spencer Niebuhr (Stony Brook/Smithtown, N.Y.) tallied off a feed from Ouellet. The Statesmen held a 3-0 advantage at the 7:55 mark courtesy of sophomore attackman Dave Spratlen's (Colorado Academy/Littleton, Colo.) first of two goals.
The Big Red (8-2) got on the board at 5:53 thanks to an extra-man goal by junior David Key (Ithaca, N.Y.). From that point, Hobart appeared ready to run away with the game, outscoring Cornell 5-1 over the final 17 minutes of the first half and taking an 8-2 lead into the locker room.
In the third quarter, both teams notched a trio of scores with the Statesmen holding an 11-5 lead heading into the final frame.
Hobart has won four of its last five games, but the one that got away was the one that concerned the Statesmen the most this afternoon. On Saturday on Boswell Field, Hobart held a 9-3 lead over sixth-ranked Georgetown midway through the third quarter, but the Hoyas scored the last seven goals of the game to steal a 10-9 victory.
Statesmen fans were getting a bad case of deja vu early in the fourth quarter, thanks to a great individual effort by Cornell senior attackman Sean Steinwald (Ottawa, Ontario). Steinwald scored three of the first five goals of the forth quarter -- teammates Andrew Schardt and Chris Packard netted the other two -- to pull the Big Red to within one, 11-10, with 6:52 remaining. Steinwald finished with four goals and two assists.
Hobart finally broke out of its fourth quarter funk when Breslin netted his final goal of the afternoon on a feed from senior attackman Jared Bebee (West Genesee/Syracuse, N.Y.). Bebee, who finished with two goals and two assists, has scored at least a point in 37 consecutive games. Not completely satisfied with a two-goal cushion, Ouellet recorded tallies at 4:04 and 2:55 to secure the upset.
Senior goalie James Murtha (Manhasset/Manhasset, N.Y.) was stellar in the cage for Hobart, turning aside a season-high matching 13 shots, while sophomore Justin Cynar (Massapequa, N.Y.) made 11 stops for Cornell.
The Statesmen return to action on Wed., April 26, when they travel to Patriot League opponent Lehigh for a 3 p.m., faceoff. A victory would secure the league title for Hobart and give the Statesmen the Patriot's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
--HWS SPORTS--
