GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart College lacrosse team inched closer to a spot in the four-team Northeast Conference Tournament with a 14-10 win over Merrimack College this afternoon. Junior midfielder Derrek Madonna produced a team-leading six points for the second straight game to pace the Statesmen.
 
Madonna had a career-high five goals and an assist against the Warriors. Senior midfielder Tommy Mott added a career-high matching four goals. The tandem of senior Drew Blanchard and sophomore Adam Shea dominated the X, winning 19-of-27 faceoffs. Shea was 10-of-15 with a game-high eight ground balls while Blanchard was 9-of-12 with five GBs.
 
On the defensive end, junior defenseman Michael Christiansen and first-year midfielder Nicky Gullace each notched two caused turnovers as Hobart notched a season-high 10 in the game. Sophomore Kevin Holtby earned the win in goal with 10 saves.
 
Merrimack senior attackman Christian Thomas had a team-high five points on four goals and an assist. First-year defenseman Joseph Jorgenson had two caused turnovers and junior defenseman Nicholas Perez-Blanco picked up a team-high four ground balls. First-year goalie Henry Vogt made 14 saves.
 
Madonna opened the scoring, firing home a feed from sophomore midfielder Bobby Baltzer, just over a minute into the game. It was a lead the Statesmen did not yield. Junior attackman Jason Knox followed with an unassisted goal four minutes later and Madonna rang up his second three minutes after that to extend Hobart's advantage to 3-0.
 
Thomas got the visitors on the board late in the first quarter, converting an extra-man opportunity. Merrimack finished the game 3-of-6 with the advantage, helping keep the final score close.
 
Twenty-one seconds later, Baltzer set up sophomore attackman Troy Barthelme to cap the opening 15 minutes with Hobart in front 4-1.
 
The Warriors got back within two when they scored the first goal of the second quarter, but the Statesmen responded with back-to-back goals just nine seconds apart. Mott, assisted by Knox, scored the first. Blanchard won the ensuing faceoff and dished to Madonna, who potted his third goal of the game.
 
About nine minutes before halftime, Thomas netted his second, but Hobart ripped off three straight to go into halftime with a 9-3 advantage. Mott and Baltzer started the run with unassisted tallies. Madonna capped it off on an assist from senior Ryan Archer, the first of his game-high three helpers.
 
Merrimack seized the momentum in the third quarter, outscoring Hobart 4-1 to close the gap to 10-7 going into the final frame.
 
The Statesmen poured cold water on the Warriors' comeback hopes with back-to-back goals to start the fourth quarter. First-year midfielder Anthony Dattellas set up first-year midfielder Chad Bach for the first and then scored himself off a feed from Madonna. The goals were less than a minute apart and gave Hobart a12-7 lead. From there, the teams traded alternated goals down the stretch.
 
The win raises Hobart's record to 4-2 in the NEC. Merrimack ends the season 5-5 overall, 4-4 in the NEC. The Warriors, who are in the second year of their transition from Division II to Division I are not eligible for the NEC or NCAA tournaments this year.
 
With two games remaining in the regular season, the Statesmen are tied for third place with Bryant (6-3, 4-2), a half game behind second place LIU (6-3, 5-2). Wagner (1-6, 1-4) is the only team eligible for the tournament that could finish with the same league record as Hobart, but the Seahawks' game against Mount St. Mary's scheduled for today was postponed, leaving them three games to make up next week. The Statesmen are scheduled to travel to Staten Island to face Wagner at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, April 27. That game was originally scheduled for April 17, but was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.