The Hobart College soccer team won the Liberty League regular season title last season and advanced to the league tournament for the third year. This year's Statesmen are determined to build on these successes in 2017.
 
Last fall Hobart went 9-5-4 overall and 6-1-1 in the Liberty League. The Statesmen had 10 games go to overtime, one shy of the NCAA record. In those games Hobart went unbeaten (6-0-4).
 
Head Coach Shawn Griffin begins his 18th season this weekend with the 2017 Hobart Soccer Alumni Classic. The Statesmen welcome Eastern Connecticut State, Brandeis and Cortland to Geneva for games on Saturday, Sept. 2 and Sunday, Sept. 3. Hobart will take on ECSU on Saturday at noon and Brandeis on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
 
"Every year the goal is to win the Liberty League championship," said Griffin. "We are ready to build off the momentum we've had, we are working to put ourselves in a place to host the Liberty League tournament, win the title and make the NCAA tournament."
 
Griffin graduated five players from last fall's roster and returns 26 players. Eight newcomers, seven first years and a transfer, round out the 2017 Hobart roster.
 
"We are starting to really see the development of our returning players. We have players who have seen significant minutes and that hopefully equates to more experienced players on the field," said Griffin. "We have a great group of new guys. It's a balanced group position-wise. All of them have shown that they can compete at this level and I expect a number of them to make significant contributions right away"
 
Here's a position-by-position look at this year's Statesmen:
 
DEFENSE
 
The Hobart defense will be led by seniors Joseph Escamilla, Hunter Critchlow and Zach Poretz. A second year captain and 2016 All-Liberty League selection, Escamilla played every game last fall. He also made an impact offensively notching five points on two goals and an assist. Critchlow also played every match in 2016, helping guide the Statesmen to seven shutouts and a 1.19 goals against average. Poretz made the move to defense this year after playing in every game last fall, starting all but two. He added two goals.
 
Sophomore Binjo Emmanuel, an all-region and all-league pick, started all 14 games he played in last fall. He chipped in a goal and an assist. Emmanuel joins juniors Tanner Poisson and Alex Weisbein and sophomores Ben Bares and Sam Eaton as the returning group in the back. First-years Kyle Walsh, Tommy Wendt and Jack Harper bring even more depth to the position.
 
MIDFIELD
 
In the midfield, second-year senior captain Adrian Colmenares will lead a deep and experienced group. Colmenares collected first team all-league and third team all-region accolades last year after starting in all 16 games he played in and posting three goals, all game winners. Junior Derrick Acheampong battled injuries last fall after collecting all-region and all-league honors as a first-year. Juniors Mouhamed Diouf, Trevor Poisson and Sam Farman bring even more experience for the Statesmen. Diouf played in eight games scoring in a win over Utica, Farman played in all but two games notching two assists, while Poisson played in nine games in 2016.
 
Sophomores Mike Goulart, Cooper O'Connell, Tristan Cornell Roberts and Jack Bizub will look to build on solid rookie seasons. Goulart played in every game last year and logged a goal and an assist, and O'Connell saw time in 13 matches and registered one goal and two assists. Cornell Roberts appeared in nine games and scored a goal, while Bizub saw time in three contests.
 
Nick Wigglesworth is a sophomore transfer from Brandeis. He played in three games for the Judges. Pete Critchlow, younger brother of Hunter, Kyle Mangold, August Marini and Jack Fell are Hobart's first-years in the midfield.
 
FORWARD
 
Sophomore Nate Cary is Hobart's top returning scorer. He notched seven points on three goals and two assists in his first year as a Statesman, chipping in the game-winners against St. Lawrence and Union. Senior Nick Dosky played in all 18 games last year and posted a goal and an assist. Classmate Patrick Schulz played in 16 games and scored the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Ithaca. Junior Mitch Palmer appeared in 15 games in 2016 and notched a goal and an assist. Sophomore Ben Orr saw time in six games and scored one goal, while classmate Kyle Patrick played in 13 games.
 
GOALIES
 
Hobart returns three very capable goalies in senior Morgan Sawyer, junior Alec Kaminer and sophomore Brian Salazar. Sawyer played in Hobart's first four games last fall before being sidelined by an injury. Kaminer started the next 14 games. He posted a 0.94 goals against average, a .781 save percentage and a 9-2-3 record, earning five shutouts. Salazar saw time in one game last fall.
 
SCHEDULE
 
After taking on ECSU and Brandeis this weekend, the Statesmen host Rochester on Sept. 9 at 3 p.m., following the Carver-DeLaney Family Press Box and stadium seating dedication at Cozzens Field at 10 a.m. Hobart plays its first game on the road on Sept. 14 at Potsdam at 7 p.m., before hosting Geneseo on Homecoming Weekend, Sept. 16 at 2 p.m. The Statesmen open Liberty League play at Skidmore on Sept. 23 at 3 p.m.