GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart lacrosse team made sure Stephen Brundage's head coaching debut was a successful one. The Statesmen charged out of the gate, taking a 6-1 lead after one quarter on the way to a 13-8 victory over Canisius in the Poole Family Dome this afternoon.
 
Hobart scored on six of its nine shots and deployed a relentless ride that limited the Golden Griffins to 40% clearing in the opening quarter. The Statesmen continued to frustrate Canisius' clearing attempts limiting them to 41% through three quarters and just 52% for the game. Hobart didn't allow the Griffs to score consecutive goals until the fourth quarter.
 
Sophomore Daniel Cano led the offense with a first quarter hat trick and four points. Senior Connor DiTomasso also notched four points on two goals and two assists. Senior Seamus Schofield won 10-of-15 faceoffs and grabbed a game-high seven ground balls. First-year defenseman Colman Craft recorded five caused turnovers and classmate Michael Johnson won his Hobart debut in goal, making 14 saves.

COACH'S CORNER


 
GAME RECAP
First Quarter: Hobart 6, Canisius 1

• Johnson turned aside the first two shots he faced, keeping the game scoreless through five minutes.
• Cano opened the scoring with back-to-back goals just 47 seconds apart to give the home team a lead it would not concede.
• Canisius' Peter Biglin scored the first of his three goals near the midpoint of the first quarter, but Hobart responded with four straight goals to take control of the game.
• First-years Rufus Robertson and Gordon Bennett netted their first collegiate goals during the run, while Cano completed his hat trick and DiTomasso notched his first goal.

 
Second Quarter: Hobart 8, Canisius 3

• The teams traded goals through the second quarter with senior Max Snellenberg and junior Tye Steinhuis scored their first of the season for the Statesmen.
• Johnson turned away four more shots during the frame.

 
Third Quarter: Hobart 13, Canisius 5

• The back-and-forth continued after halftime until Hobart posted three straight to turn a 10-5 lead into an eight-goal lead heading into the fourth. The Statesmen had five different goal scorers during the quarter.

 
Fourth Quarter: Hobart 13, Canisius 8

• The Golden Griffins scored all three goals of the fourth quarter, but didn't get their first until just over seven minutes remained in the game.
• Johnson continued to shine in the cage, making five more stops over the final 15 minutes.

 
GAME NOTES

• Craft's five caused turnovers are tied for second on Hobart's single game list, one off the record. It's the most caused turnovers in a game by a first-year in Statesmen history.
• Johnson is the first Hobart first-year to start the season opener in over 26 years.
• Johnson's 14 saves are the most by a Statesmen first-year goalie since Max Silberlicht made 17 stops against Fairfield on March 31, 2007.

PLAYERS' PERSPECTIVE 





UP NEXT

• Hobart will begin a three-game road trip at Central New York rival Colgate on Saturday, Feb. 14.