Box Score GENEVA, N.Y.—Hobart College senior midfielder Bobby Dattilo broke the Hobart Division I career ground balls record this afternoon, but top-ranked Loyola University put a damper on the celebration, leaving Boswell Field with a 17-6 victory. In addition to winning 15-of-24 faceoffs, Dattilo collected a game-high 13 ground balls to raise his four-year total to 274.

The Greyhounds clinched the ECAC's regular season title with a perfect 6-0 record, improving to 12-0 overall. Junior attackman Mike Sawyer recorded a game-high five points on four goals and an assist. Senior attackman Eric Lusby added three goals and an assist, while junior midfielder Davis Butts (2g, 1a) and junior long-stick midfielder Scott Ratliff (1g, 2a) each chipped in three points. Ratliff also caused a game-high four turnovers.

The Statesmen (3-9, 1-4) got a hat trick from sophomore attackman Alex Love and sophomore attackman Cam Stone added a goal and two assists. Junior long-stick midfielder and sophomore defenseman Peter Bolte each caused two turnovers.

Loyola starting goalie, sophomore Jack Runkel, stopped eight of the 14 shots he faced to earn the win. Hobart sophomore goalie Peter Zonino recorded eight saves as well.

The Greyhounds started strong, firing home three goals in less than three minutes early in the first quarter. Josh Hawkins, Lusby, and Pat Byrnes hit the back of the net with successive unassisted goals. Butts and Sawyer added goals midway through the frame to push the lead to 5-0.

Love got the Statesmen on the board at the 3:05 mark, but Loyola got two more goals before the end of the frame to carry a 7-1 lead into the second quarter.

Hobart regrouped in the second quarter, outscoring the Greyhounds 3-1. Zonino recorded four saves and the Statesmen enjoyed the advantage in shots (13-8), ground balls (6-5) and committed just a single turnover. Senior midfielder Chris Pedersen set up Stone's extra-man goal at the 12:16 mark. Loyola got the goal back 3:49 before the half, but Love scored unassisted with 2:00 to go and Stone fed junior midfielder Jake Silberlicht, who found the back of the next four seconds ahead of the break.

Loyola led 8-4 at halftime.

Like the first quarter, the 'Hounds started the second half with a quick burst of goals. Ratliff, Sean O'Sullivan, and J.P. Dalton scored in a span of just 2:27 to stretch the lead to 11-4. Lusby made it four straight for Loyola, scoring an extra-man goal at the 4:18 mark.

Hobart stopped the run with tallies 48 seconds apart by first-year Branden Kessler and Love. The Statesmen trailed 12-6 heading into the final 15 minutes.

Another flurry of goals to start the fourth quarter put the game out of reach. Butts, Dalton, and Sawyer registered back-to-back goals in just 64 seconds to put Loyola in front 15-6 with 12:36 remaining in the game.

The Greyhounds outshot the Statesmen 42-36, enjoyed a 31-28 advantage in ground balls, and committed six fewer turnovers.

Hobart will close out the season on Saturday, April 28, when Air Force visits Boswell Field for an ECAC game televised by Time Warner Cable Sports. The opening faceoff is slated for 7:06 p.m. Loyola will return home to host crosstown rival Johns Hopkins at 1 p.m. on April 28.

GAME NOTES

• Love has a team-high 34 goals, third on Hobart's Division I season list, one behind Mark Williamson (2004) and three off Nathan Roost's 1997 record.
• Stone took over sole possession of second place on Hobart's Division I season assist list. He has 28 helpers this season, 10 shy of Jamie Kirk's 2007 record.
• Dattilo's 83 ground balls this season place him seventh on Hobart's Division season list, two behind No. 6 Mike Sweeney (1995).
• Junior defenseman Sean Regan had a caused turnover, raising his career total to 38. He's ranked second, five behind Alex Caton's standard.
• Dattilo's 274 career ground balls are the most by a Statesman since Bobby Wynne scooped up 300 between 1991 and 1994 when Hobart competed in Division III.