GENEVA, N.Y.—Senior Matthew Pedicine broke the Hobart College Division I era record for ground balls in a season tonight, but visiting Syracuse University pulled away from the Statesmen in the second half for a 17-5 victory on Boswell Field at David J Urick Stadium. The 11th-ranked Orange improve to 6-3 on the season, while No. 20 Hobart slipped to 8-2.
 
Pedicine picked up a game-high 11 ground balls to raise his season total to 121, surpassing the previous standard of 115 set by Eric Curry '96 in 1996. Pedicine was 13-of-26 at the faceoff X. First-year midfielder Derrek Madonna accounted for three of Hobart's five goals in the game, marking his second hat trick of the season. Junior Eric Holden also recorded three points on a goal and two assists. Junior goalie Sam Lucchesi made 12 saves in just over 58 minutes of work.
 
Syracuse had five players with three points or more, led by junior Stephen Rehfuss' five-point day (2-3). Senior Nate Solomon added four points on a goal and three assists. Sophomore Jacob Buttermore and senior Bradley Voigt each recorded hat tricks. Sophomore Jakob Phaup was 13-of-20 at the X with a team-high six ground balls. Junior goalie Drake Porter keyed the stout SU defense with a career-high matching 16 saves.
 
The annual Kraus-Simmons Trophy showdown, which honors National Lacrosse Hall of Fame coaches Babe Kraus of Hobart and Roy Simmons Sr. of Syracuse, was a competitive, back-and-forth game in the early going. Rehfuss opened the night's scoring less than two minutes in, but first-year Bradley Simas and Madonna scored back-to-back goals less than three minutes apart to put Hobart in the lead. Madonna's goal came with the extra man and was a rocket to the upper right corner of the cage. SU junior Jamie Trimboli tied the game at two before the end of the first quarter.
 
Madonna scored unassisted early in the second quarter to push the Statesmen back in front, but the Orange rattled off three straight goals in less than two minutes to go in front 5-3. Madonna picked the corner again with another laser to stop the run. Midway through the quarter, Holden knotted the game at five, finishing a feed from first-year Jason Knox.
 
Rehfuss scored what proved to be the game winner about six minutes before halftime, kick starting a 12-0 closing run for the Orange. Sophomore David Lipka scored his second goal of the game just before the half for a 7-5 Syracuse lead.
 
Drawing off a crowd of over 2,100, Hobart outshot Syracuse 18-7 in the first quarter and had a 28-20 edge in shots at halftime. In the second half, SU controlled possession taking 27 shots while limiting the Statesmen to just 13. The Orange got goals from four different players in the third quarter to extend their lead to 11-5 and piled up six more tallies in the fourth to secure the Kraus-Simmons Trophy.
 
Tonight's game marked Hobart's final non-conference game of the season. The Statesmen return to Northeast Conference play on Saturday, April 6, when they travel to Philadelphia to take on Saint Joseph's (5-5, 1-1). The game is slated to start at 1 p.m. Syracuse will return to the Carrier Dome for its final home game on April 9, hosting Cornell at 6 p.m.