Chris David

Nate Molinari

February 26, 2005

BROOKLANDVILLE, Md.—The Hobart College lacrosse team scored eight unanswered goals over the course of the first and second quarters to cruise to an 11-7 victory over Butler University in the season opener played at St. Paul's School in Brooklandville, Md. Sophomore Chris David (Georgetown Prep/Silver Springs, Md.) and junior Nate Molinari (Oswego/Oswego, N.Y.) both tallied three goals apiece for the Statesmen.

The Bulldogs (0-2) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the opening five minutes on goals from first-years Cliff Smith (Queen Elizabeth/Surrey, British Columbia) and Jason Donati (St. Paul’s School/Walkersville, Md.), but it was all Hobart after that as they broke off eight straight goals to march into halftime with a 9-4 lead.

David got the scoring started for the Statesmen with an unassisted tally at the 9:01 mark and Molinari tied the score less than two minutes later with the first of his three goals.

With five minutes remaining in the opening frame, junior Pat Meade (Schenectady/Schenectady, N.Y.) connected on a pass from first-year Sean Murphy (Bishop Timon-St. Jude/Buffalo, N.Y.) to put Hobart up 3-2 at the end of the quarter.

The Statesmen fired home the next five goals to stretch their lead to six before Donati found the back of the net for Butler. Donati finished with a game-high four goals.

Coming out of the break with a 9-4 lead, first-year Daryl Veltman (Salisbury/Georgetown, Ontario) and Molinari pushed Hobart to a seven-goal advantage with 12:47 left to play in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs rattled off three unanswered goals, but senior goaltender Dan Valente (Mount Hebron/Ellicott City, Md.) and the Statesmen defense stayed strong to earn the four-goal victory.
Sophomore John Soden (Delbarton/Chester, N.J.) was outstanding at the X, winning 16-of-22 faceoffs and picking up a game-high eight ground balls. Hobart held a 52-34 advantage on shots and picked up 49 ground balls to Butler’s 28.

In goal, Valente made a career-high 19 saves, including seven in the fourth quarter. For the Bulldogs it was sophomore Ryan Kaiser (The Peddie School/New Canaan, Conn.) senior Sam Ashley (Cherry Creek/Denver, Colo.) combining to make 21 stops.

Hobart returns to action on March 5, hosting Binghamton for the home opener. Faceoff is set for 1 p.m., on McCooey Field.