Box Score PHILADELPHIA—Junior Kevin Massa won 15-of-18 faceoffs and picked up a game-high 12 ground balls to lead 20th-ranked Bryant University to a 10-4 victory over Hobart College in the championship game of the Northeast Conference Men's Lacrosse Tournament on Sweeney Field today.
 
Featuring one of the youngest rosters in the nation, the Statesmen stunned tournament top seed Saint Joseph's in double overtime in Thursday's semifinals and aspired to repeat that performance today against the Bulldogs, but the tournament's No. 2 seed wouldn't be denied its third straight NEC title.
 
The Statesmen got goals from senior Jake McHenry, juniors Zach Reed and Brendan Saylor and sophomore Cooper Stefaniak while senior Cam Stone recorded a pair of assists. Senior goalie Peter Zonino recorded 10 saves and shared team-high honors for ground balls with three with classmate Connor Eustace. McHenry, Stone, and Zonino represented Hobart on the All-Tournament Team.
 
Bryant got a game-high five goals from sophomore Shane Morrell. Senior Colin Dunster added two goals and two assists while senior JK Poirier and first-year Tucker James each posted two assists. Sophomore goalie Gunnar Waldt made 14 saves to earn the win. Morrell, Dunster, Waldt, and Massa received All-Tournament recognition with Massa taking home MVP honors.
 
Bryant jumped out to a 3-0 lead thanks to goals by Dunster, Morrell, and Massa just 3:03 apart early in the first quarter. The Statesmen settled down after the bumpy start and didn't allow another goal in the frame, but at the other end of the field Waldt made five stops to keep Hobart scoreless.
 
The Statesmen got on the board about five minutes into the second quarter. Junior Taylor Vanderbeek hit the side of the net with a shot that fooled the crowd (and more than one defender) into thinking it was a goal. As Waldt came around the right post to retrieve the loose ball in his crease, Stefaniak scooped the ground ball and raced around the left side, shoveling a shot into the open net for his 14th goal of the year.
 
Morrell scored his second of the day at 4:18 to restore the three-goal advantage, but Reed scored unassisted with 2:06 remaining to cut the deficit to two. Both teams had possession down the stretch, but were unable to convert leaving Bryant a 4-2 edge at the half.
 
Another three goal-burst early in the third quarter put the Bulldogs on the edge of breaking the game open. Dunster scored just 58 seconds in and Hobart was flagged for an illegal body check. Morrell converted the extra-man opportunity and then added an even-strength goal less than four minutes later to stretch Bryant's lead to 7-2. Again, the Statesmen settled down and didn't allow another goal in the quarter, but Hobart wasn't able to solve Waldt.
 
The Statesmen got within three with back-to-back goals to start the fourth quarter. Saylor scored an extra-man goal with 12 minutes remaining and McHenry tallied his team-leading 29th with 5:22 left. Both goals were set up by Stone, who finished his career with 85 assists, the most by a Division I Statesman and eighth on Hobart's all-time list. He finished with 134 career points, fourth among Division I Statesmen.
 
With time running short and Massa winning faceoff after faceoff, Hobart had to extend its defense and take chances. The Bulldogs were able to breakthrough for another goal at 4:23 to stop the Statesmen run and then added a pair of empty-net goals 28 seconds apart as Hobart deployed the 10-man ride.
 
Zonino finished his career with 503 saves, third among DI Statesmen. He was also seventh in career goals against average (11.58) and eighth in save percentage (.520). Senior long-stick midfielder Peter Bolte had a caused turnover against Bryant to finish the year with 17, fifth on Hobart's single season list. He recorded 40 for his career, fourth all-time. Senior defenseman Connor Eustace was one caused turnover behind Bolte for the team lead and had 21 for his career, sixth on the all-time list.
 
First-year defenseman Shane Hurley registered 11 caused turnovers on the year, tied for 10th on Hobart's single season list and a record for a Statesman first-year.
 
While Hobart loses Stone and McHenry, who tied for the team points lead, the Statesmen (5-10) will return 12 of their top 15 scorers.
 
"I wanted to win for our seniors," Hobart Head Coach Greg Raymond said. "They deserved it. They work very hard. It stings right now, but I'm proud of the way we fought. We have a lot to build on. Our future's bright, I really believe that."