GENEVA, N.Y.-The Hobart College soccer team scored three first half goals and hung on to defeat RIT 3-2 in a Liberty League contest on Cozzens Field this afternoon. The Statesmen are now 7-2-0 this season and 1-0-0 in the Liberty League.
 
Today's win was the 500th victory for Hobart soccer program.
 
The Statesmen turned on the pressure right from the opening whistle. After a near mistake in their own end, Hobart opened the scoring in the fourth minute. Senior Nate Cary forced a turnover on a goal kick, carried the ball into the box and buried a shot into the lower left corner of the cage. It was his second goal of the season. Twenty-eight seconds later, Cary scored his third goal of the season.  He collected a pass from junior Jack Fell on the penalty dot and fired a shot with his right foot into the back of the net. The Statesmen extended their lead to 3-0 on junior Juan Widoycovich's first collegiate goal. He played give-and-go with sophomore Nick Kriak around midfield, broke in on goalkeeper Will Sokol, and slid a shot into the lower right corner of the net.
 
The Tigers (2-5-1, 0-1-0) broke up the shutout bid in the 42nd minute.  On a counterattack, Nick Simone fed a leading pass to Simon Garno, who slipped a shot past Brian Salazar for his third goal of the season. Dante DeSisti was also credited with an assist on the goal.
 
RIT continued to put the pressure on the Hobart defense in the second half. Simone nearly had a goal of his own in the 58th minute, but his shot was turned aside by Salazar.  In the 65th minute, the Tigers thought they had a goal but it was waved off due to an offsides call. Mark-Vincent Sansone made it a one-goal game in the 70th minute. He fired a cross cage shot off the right goal post and into the net. It was his first goal of the season.  The Tigers had one last chance to tie the game off a free kick with eight seconds remaining. Garno's shot from 20-yards out just missed the right goal post.
 
Hobart's best opportunity of the second half came in the 52nd minute. Junior Pete Critchlow fired a shot off the right goal post.
 
The teams finished the game with 12 shots each. Hobart held a 4-2 edge in corner kicks.
 
Salazar made five saves in 90 minutes of action for Hobart. Will Sokol and Spencer Raymond-Smith each played 45 minutes for RIT. Sokol made one save and Raymond-Smith made two.
 
The Statesmen will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 28, when they take on Skidmore. The game is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.