GENEVA, N.Y.—A fast start on offense and a stout defensive performance propelled the Hobart College lacrosse team to a 15-9 victory over Sacred Heart University in the Northeast Conference semifinals on Boswell Field today. The Statesmen posted their fifth straight win to improve to 9-6 on the year while the Pioneers slip to 9-6.
 
Sophomore attackman Chris Aslanian led the Statesmen with a game-high four goals. Senior attackman Frank Brown added three points on a goal and two assists. Senior midfielder Mark Darden, first-year midfielder Eric Holden and first-year attackman Justin Scott each scored a pair of goals. Scott raised his season total to 29, eclipsing the Hobart Division I record for goals by a first-year of 28 set by Daryl Veltman '08 in 2005.
 
On the defensive end, senior goalie Jackson Brown was on his game early, making 10 saves before halftime and finishing the contest with 14 stops. Junior long-stick midfielder Christopher Willman had a game-high three caused turnovers and six ground balls. Hobart had a 38-31 advantage in ground balls, thanks in part to senior defensive midfielder Noel McGuiness' game-high eight GBs.
 
For Sacred Heart, senior midfielder Bryce Jurk and junior Julian Garritano both had four points on two goals and two assists. Senior midfielder Brian Masi contributed a hat trick. First-year Jake Giaquinto won 8-of-14 faceoffs and had a team-high five ground balls.
 
Scott opened the day's scoring, but less than a minute later, Jurk drew the visitors even before the game was five minutes old. Hobart reclaimed the lead, this time for good, when senior defensive midfielder Kevin Murphy scored unassisted 36 seconds after Jurk. His goal sparked a 6-0 run by the Statesmen. After Aslanian and Holden scored to give the Statesmen a 4-1 lead, Scott netted his record-breaker with a frozen rope into upper right corner of the cage.
 

All-Rookie team member Justin Scott nets his second goal of the day and @HWSAthletics goes up 5-1 #necmlax pic.twitter.com/ybhwFEAYBJ

— necmlax (@necmlax) May 4, 2017

 
 
Senior midfielder Tanner John set up Darden for the final goal of the opening quarter, giving the home team a 6-1 lead after 15 minutes.
 
Aslanian sandwiched a pair of goals around Masi's man-up goal to open the second quarter scoring. The Pioneers whittled their lead down to four, 8-4, with the final two goals of the half.
 
Hobart punched its return ticket to the championship game by scoring seven of the first eight goals of the second half. Romm bookended a four-goal run to start things off. Frank Brown set up Holden and then scored a goal of his own on a breakaway 20 seconds later.
 
Garritano interrupted the run, but Aslanian, Darden and first-year Jimmy Lampert hit pay dirt to stretch the Statesmen lead to 15-5. SHU closed the gap with four goals in the final six minutes, but it was too little, too late.
 
Hobart finished the day with a season-high 55 shots, the fifth time this year the Statesmen have had 50-plus shots.
 
Sophomore Greg Price started in goal for the Pioneers, making nine saves in 54 minutes of work. Senior goalie William Crepault stopped the only shot he faced in relief.
 
The Statesmen will face Bryant (9-7) in the NEC championship game on Saturday, May 6 at noon. The Bulldogs advanced to the title game with a 12-3 win over Robert Morris in the other semifinal. Fans can watch the championship game for free on ESPN3 or NEC Front Row.