March 19, 2005

Sean Reed locks in on a loose ball. (Photo by K. Colton/SportsPics.net)

GENEVA, N.Y.—The 16th-ranked Hobart lacrosse team put a scare into fifth-ranked Georgetown University this afternoon at McCooey Field, but the Hoyas overcame a five-goal first half deficit to post an 11-9 win. Georgetown outscored the Statesmen 6-1 in the pivotal third quarter, turning a four-goal halftime deficit into an 8-7 lead.

The Hoyas (4-1, 2-0 ECAC) opened the scoring 1:27 into the contest on the first of sophomore attackman Trevor Casey’s (Georgetown Prep/Bethesda, Md.) two goals. Both offenses were quiet over the next 10 minutes.

Sophomore midfielder Justin Porter (Salisbury School/Geneva, N.Y.) broke the Statesmen (4-1, 0-1) out of their offensive slumber with his first collegiate goal, set up by first-year attackman Daryl Veltman (Salisbury School/Georgetown, Ontario) at the 3:19 mark. Just over a minute later, Veltman found the back of the cage off a perfect crease pass by senior attackman Nate Hill (Hamburg/Hamburg, N.Y.). With 25 seconds remaining in the opening quarter, Veltman set up senior attackman Sean Reed (Waterloo/Waterloo, N.Y.) to give Hobart a 3-1 lead.

Hill scored the first two goals of the second quarter in nearly identical fashion, beating his defender from behind the cage and depositing a low shot past senior goalie Rich D’Andrea (The Peddie School/Belle Mead, N.J.). D’Andrea finished the day with 10 saves.

Junior midfielder Patrick Meade (Schenectady/Schenectady, N.Y.) closed out Hobart’s string of six unanswered goals with an unassisted marker at 3:04 of the second quarter.

Georgetown stopped the bleeding 93 second before halftime when senior midfielder Nick Miaritis (Ward Melville/Setauket, N.Y.) netted the first of his two tallies on the day.

The Hoyas came out of the break a changed team. After Hobart posted a successful clear on each of its first eight attempts, Georgetown rode the Statesmen on six of their 10 attempts in the third frame. The extra offensive opportunities translated into six of the seven third quarter goals.

Miaritis made it a 6-3 game less than two minutes into the second half, and first-year attackman Brendan Cannon (The Haverford School/Haverford, Pa.) got the Hoyas within two at the 6:13 mark.

At 3:48, senior defenseman Brodie Merrill (Salisbury School/Orangeville, Ontario) converted a failed clear by the Statesmen into his third goal of the season to trim Georgetown’s deficit to just one, and seven seconds later, junior attackman Sean Denihan (Manhasset/Manhasset, N.Y.) knotted the contest at 7-all.

Hobart briefly reclaimed the lead on sophomore midfielder Chris David’s (Georgetown Prep/Silver Springs, Md.) ninth goal of the year at the 2:45 mark, but the Hoyas scored the next three goals, spanning the third and fourth quarters to grab a 9-7 lead.

Back-to-back scores just 28 seconds apart by senior midfielder Chris Scanlon (Corning West/Painted Post, N.Y.) and junior attackman Mike Conklin (West Genesee/Syracuse, N.Y.) tied the game for the fourth and final time with 11:31 remaining.

Casey scored the game-winner with just under six minutes to play and Denihan added an insurance goal three minutes later to ice the victory.

Hobart senior goalie Dan Valente (Mt. Hebron/Ellicott City, Md.) made 17 saves, including eight in the third quarter.

Hill led Hobart with two goals and two assists, while Veltman added three points.

Denihan led Georgetown with four points (3-1), while Cannon, Casey, and Miaritis each added two goals. Merrill led the Hoyas to a 37-33 advantage on ground balls with a game-high 13.

NOTES: Hill’s two assists move him into 11th place on Hobart’s career assists list with 70, six behind No. 10 Tom Grimaldi ’85 … Hobart’s next game is at noon, on March 26, when 14th-ranked Rutgers visits McCooey Field … Georgetown’s next contest is at 1 p.m., on March 26, when the Hoyas host third-ranked Duke.