ITHACA, N.Y.—The Hobart College lacrosse team led No. 9 Cornell 5-4 at halftime, but the Big Red used a big third quarter to score a 15-12 win on Schoellkopf Field tonight. Cornell improved to 3-0, while the Statesmen suffered their first loss, dropping to 2-1.
 
Hobart's John Herlihy had a team-high five points on four goals, including a natural hat trick in the fourth quarter, and an assist. Ryan Archer added two goals and an assist. Derrek Madonna and Bradley Simas each scored twice and Anthony Dattellas chipped in a goal and an assist. Adam Shea won 13-of-29 faceoffs and grabbed a team-high nine ground balls. Goalie Kevin Holtby made 13 saves.
 
Cornell got a five-point effort from Billy Coyle (4g 1a). CJ Kirst and Hugh Kelleher each finished with four points on three goals and an assist. Angelo Petrakis was 17-of-28 on faceoffs with a game-high 11 ground balls. Goalie Chayse Ierlan made 10 saves to earn the win.
 
Hobart got off to a good start, taking a 1-0 lead just 87 seconds into the game on Archer's seventh goal of the season. Herlihy made it a 2-0 lead four minutes later and the defense made the advantage stand up through the rest of the opening stanza. Holtby made two saves to keep the Big Red off the scoreboard in the first quarter.
 
In the second quarter, Kirst scored twice for Cornell, just 11 seconds apart, to tie the game, but Madonna scored his fifth of the season to push the Statesmen back in front. The Big Red pulled even once more with a man-up goal midway through the quarter. Simas scored about four minutes before halftime and two minutes later Herlihy gave Hobart a 5-3 lead. The Statesmen were just seconds away from taking that two goal edge into halftime, but a defensive breakdown on a restart behind Hobart's goal allowed Kirst to score his third goal of the game with just 10 seconds left to make it a 5-4 game going into the break.
 
The field tilted in Cornell's favor in the third quarter. The Big Red scored four in a row to open the half, building a 9-5 lead by the nine-minute mark. Archer stopped the run, burying a feed from Bobby Baltzer. The Big Red sandwiched a pair of goals around a Hobart score by Dattellas to take a 10-7 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
Cornell ripped off five straight to start the fourth quarter, seizing 15-7 lead by the 8:42 mark. Hobart refused to let the game get complete away from them, rallying for five straight goals of their own. Herlihy accounted for the first three then Simas and Madonna found the back of the net to make it 15-12 with 3:17 remaining. Petrakis won the ensuing faceoff and the Big Red were able to run out the clock.
 
Bolstered by a 20-8 advantage in the third quarter, Cornell outshot Hobart 51-38. The Big Red had a 38-32 edge in ground balls and went 1-for-3 with the extra man.
 
Hobart will be back in action Sunday, March 6, when the Statesmen travel to Syracuse to take on the 14th-ranked Orange. Faceoff of the annual Kraus-Simmons Trophy is scheduled for 4 p.m. in the Carrier Dome.