The Hobart College lacrosse team will begin its 116th varsity season with a road trip to Penn State on Saturday, Feb. 10. The Statesmen and No. 12 Nittany Lions will face off in Holuba Hall at 1 p.m.
 
All Hobart lacrosse games will be broadcast live by WEOS-FM (89.5/90.3).
 
Fifth-year Head Coach Greg Raymond has built Hobart into a consistent contender in the Northeast Conference, compiling a 31-31 record in his first four seasons. The 31 victories are the most of any four-year stretch since the Statesmen moved to Division I in 1995.
 
Raymond and his coaching staff are excited about this team's leadership, particularly the four captains: senior defenseman D. Bennett Moore, senior midfielder J. Andrew Spallanzani, senior long-stick midfielder Christopher Willman and junior attackman Chris Aslanian.
 
"This team has very sound leadership," Raymond says. "The dynamic of what we need and what we ask of them doesn't come from the coaches anymore, it comes from them. These guys have established very high goals."
 
Hobart is coming off a 9-7 season that saw the Statesmen win the NEC regular season championship with a 5-1 record. Hobart clinched the right to host the NEC Tournament on the final day of the regular season with a thrilling 18-17 win at Robert Morris.
 
The Statesmen avenged their only league loss with a 15-9 win over Sacred Heart in the NEC Semifinals, returning to the title game for the third time in four years. Unfortunately, Hobart came up a goal short of its second straight NCAA tournament appearance, falling to Bryant in a defensive slugfest 5-4.
 
Raymond returns 36 lettermen, including four starters, from the 2017 team and believes this year's squad is his deepest to date. The next step for the program is building consistency to avoid the ups and downs in execution that cost the Statesmen last year during a three-game losing streak.
 
"The next step for us is being in a position to play as well as possible every single game so that we're not looking back and regretting a Tuesday night against Colgate," Raymond says. "We're not regretting a Georgetown game because we just didn't play great in the first quarter. We want consistency and that's going to lead us to better league performances."
 
Here's a look at the Statesmen, position-by-position, who will be charged with building that consistency.
 
ATTACK
 
Hobart featured a potent attack last season, ranking 20th in the nation in points per game (17.69). The Statesmen finished the year with 191 goals and 283 points. Both totals are the most since the program was elevated to Division I.
 
Frank Brown '17, a USILA honorable mention All-American and the 2017 NEC Player of the Year, became just the fifth Division I Statesman to produce 50 points in a season. Now a member of the NLL's Georgia Swarm, Brown leaves a hole in the starting lineup.
 
Aslanian, who scored 49 points last year and was a second team All-NEC pick, and sophomore Justin Scott, who logged 33 points and earned NEC All-Rookie Team recognition, return to the starting lineup. Aslanian is equal parts goal scorer and playmaker as evidenced by his NEC record-tying 13-point performance against Wagner that featured six goals and seven assists. He's worked hard to develop his shot with both hands to the point that opponents question which hand is his dominant hand. With Brown and Aslanian as feeders, Scott racked up 29 goals as a first-year, the most by a Hobart rookie in the program's Division I era.
 
After contributing 16 points in the midfield last season, Eric Holden will begin his second season on attack. Arguably the best dodger on the team, he came on strong at the end of the season, recording 11 points in the final five games. Holden produced a season-high four points in the win over the Colonials.
 
In addition to Aslanian, Scott and Holden, first-year Ryan Archer is also expected to see significant playing time up top. The graduate of Jamesville-DeWitt High School led New York State with 147 points as a senior, earning US Lacrosse All-American honors.
 
Junior Kyle Grimaldi and first-year Tommy Mott could also contribute on attack.
 
MIDFIELD
 
All three of Hobart's starting midfielders produced at least 23 points last season, the best production the Statesmen have gotten out of their top midfield line in quite some time. Max Romm '17 (24-4-28) and Sean Donnelly '17 (10-14-24) have graduated, leaving junior Bryan Hancock (16-7-23) as the only returning starter. Hancock had a hand in a third of Hobart's 18 goals against Canisius last year, scoring four times and setting up two others.
 
Senior Mason Burr and Mott are penciled in to start next to him at Penn State, but at least six others are competing for that role. Burr has played well in the preseason and looks to build on his six goals last season. At 6-foot-2, 160 pounds, Mott has a wide array of slick moves that will get him quality playing time.
 
Senior Riley McTague, Grimaldi, sophomore Bayley Tranmer and first-years Stuart Greenspon, Alex Mapstone, and Ty Yanko give the coaching staff a good deal of depth and plenty of options to exploit matchups or keep a fresh set of legs on the field. McTague and Tranmer are healthy after working through injuries earlier in their careers. Grimaldi is bigger and stronger and playing well. The talented, unassuming first-years are chomping at the bit to show what they can do and make their mark.
 
Spallanzani, a second-team All-NEC selection, is Hobart's top faceoff specialist. He won 54 percent of the time last season, including 10-of-15 against Bryant's Kenny Massa, the All-NEC first team pick. Spallanzani also had a team-high 46 ground balls. He begins his final season in the best shape of his career and will contribute as a defensive midfielder as well.
 
Junior Matthew Pedicine (career .508 FO%), senior Henry Mann and first-year Drew Blanchard give the Statesmen several quality options at the X.
 
Junior Stanny Gilbertson is Hobart's top defensive midfielder. He's the fastest player on the team and a dogged defender. Mann, junior Chris Nolan and first-years Frank Imburgia and Wylie Sherman will solidify Hobart's depth at the position.
 
Willman is a proven playmaker and will be the team's top option at long-stick midfielder. He was second on the team last year with 42 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers. Senior William Locke and first-year Ethan Black Fernandes are also expected to contribute at long-stick midfielder.
 
CLOSE DEFENSE
 
Like the midfield, Hobart will have to deal with the graduation of two-thirds of its starting close defense. Arik Andreen '17 led the Statesmen with 24 caused turnovers and eclipsed the Hobart career record in the final seconds of the NEC Championship game. Grant Soucy '17 elevated his game on the biggest stage, earning a spot on the NEC All-Tournament Team in each of his final three seasons.
 
The losses made this position a big question mark to start the year, but the preseason development of four returning players and a pair of first-years have the coaches confident that close defense will be a strength for this year's team.
 
Moore will lead the rebuilt defense. The four-year starter is a tenacious one-on-one defender and a vocal leader. He'll be joined in the starting lineup by sophomore Sam Mueller. He had 21 ground balls and was tied for second on the team with 13 ground balls.
 
Sophomore Eoin Hurley and first-year Dan Ryan are competing for the final starting nod. Hurley had five ground balls in six games as a first-year and is poised for a breakout season. Ryan was an All-American and three-time state champion at Lincoln Sudbury High School in Massachusetts.
 
Junior Parke Schweiter and first-year Kyle Nalen will round out a six-man rotation that will give the Statesmen the most cohesive and deep unit Coach Raymond has had at Hobart.
 
GOALIE
 
Stepping into the shoes of Jackson Brown '17 will be no easy task. The Buffalo native graduated first among Division I Statesmen in career wins (25), third in career saves (537), fourth in goals against average (10.04) and fifth in save percentage (.532).
 
Junior Tristan Dougherty has embraced the challenge. New defensive coordinator Kyle Turri has had a positive impact on the next Buffalo native to stand in the cage for Hobart. He's worked with him on his footwork, positioning and clearing to preparing him for his second career start and fourth career game (Dougherty won his first start, a 16-15 triumph over Siena).
 
Senior Cole Bardawill and sophomore Sam Lucchesi are battling to be the No. 1 backup.
 
SCHEDULE
 
Hobart's 2018 slate features six home games and eight road trips. After facing Penn State, the Statesmen will play at home against Siena. If the weather cooperates, the Feb. 17 contest will be at noon on Boswell Field. If not, the game will move indoors at Pinnacle Athletic Campus in Victor at 2 p.m. The 137th meeting with Cornell will follow a week later in Ithaca.
 
Hobart will play its only consecutive home games on March 3 and March 6, hosting Binghamton and Colgate. The Statesmen will begin spring break at Georgetown on March 10 and end the week at Wagner, opening NEC play on March 17.
 
Hobart will sandwich league home games against Saint Joseph's (March 24) and Robert Morris (April 7) around non-conference road trips to Canisius (March 27) and No. 10 Syracuse (April 3). The Statesmen will close out April with NEC games at Mount St. Mary's (April 14) and Bryant (April 21) before hosting Sacred Heart on Senior Day on April 28.