April 24, 2005

Nate Hill became the top scoring DI Statesman with five points in a 13-9 win at St. John's. (Photo by K. Colton/SportsPics.net)

QUEENS, N.Y.—The Hobart lacrosse team posted a 13-9 ECAC Lacrosse League victory over host St. John’s University this afternoon at DaSilva Field, ending a four-game slide. Senior attackman Nate Hill (Hamburg/Hamburg, N.Y.) shared team-high scoring honors with five points and moved into a tied for 18th place on Hobart’s career points list with 141, the most by a Division I Statesman

Hobart (6-5, 2-3) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. Hill bounced the first shot of the game past the Red Storm’s goalie Dave Saccente, finishing a feed from junior attackman Mike Conklin (West Genesee/Syracuse, N.Y.) at 14:11. Just over a minute later the Statesmen took advantage of an unsettled situation when first-year attackman Daryl Veltman (Salisbury School/Georgetown, Ontario) finished a layup on the doorstep, set up by a perfect cross-crease pass by Hill.

St. John’s (2-10, 0-6) answered with three straight goals, keyed by the play of attackman Tom Michaelsen (Bethpage/Bethpage, N.Y.). The first-year scored the Red Storm’s first goal, racing straight to the cage and scoring from point-blank range. After classmate Jack Rosson (Severn School/Severna Park, Md.) tied the score, Michaelsen gave SJU its first lead with some deft passing. He faked a pass behind the cage and whipped a feed to the crease that first-year midfielder Felix Forbes (Corning East/Corning, N.Y.) dropped home for a 3-2 advantage.

The Statesmen squared the match 36 seconds into the second frame when red-shirt junior Nate Molinari (Oswego/Oswego, N.Y.) threw a dart into the cage from the top of the box. The Red Storm responded with back-to-back goals to take a 5-3 lead.

On Hobart’s fourth goal of the day, Hill passed Jamie Breslin ’01 and Matt Crowther ’96 on the career scoring list, assisting on Conklin’s dunk on doorstep. Breslin, who held the previous mark for points by a Statesman at the Division I level (138), and Crowther were tied for 19th place on Hobart career scoring list.

“I’m proud of Nate,” Hobart Head Coach Matt Kerwick said. “He’s worked very hard to be one of our leaders year-in and year-out. It’s fitting for Nate to be a leader out there when we get this important win for us.”

Sophomore midfielder Chris David (Georgetown Prep/Silver Springs, Md.) evened the game at 5-all on a wrap-around shot from a nearly impossible angle. Both teams scored once more before the intermission to head into the break tied 6-6.

To start the second half, St. John’s took the first two shots, but Hobart senior goalie Dan Valente (Mt. Hebron/Ellicott City, Md.) saved both, including a difficult, off-stick stop on a shot from point-blank range. He finished the day with 15 saves.

“That was a key play for us,” Kerwick said. “Danny’s been struggling a bit of late. It was great to see him step up and play the way he’s capable of. Those two saves really got us kick-started in the second half.”

Hobart seized control of the game with five goals in less than five minutes. Senior midfielder Chris Scanlon (Corning West/Painted Post, N.Y.) got the ball rolling, firing home a laser from left wing at 9:09 of the third quarter. Just over a minute later, Veltman scored on a rocket in close off an assist from junior midfielder Nick Wilbur (Avon Old Farms/Concord, N.H.). Little more than a minute after that, Veltman fed senior attackman Sean Reed (Waterloo/Waterloo, N.Y.) who slammed home an extra-man goal from the edge of the crease.

At the 4:49 mark, Conklin scored on an assist from Veltman during an unsettled situation. A very unselfish play, Veltman easily could have tried the shot himself. Nine seconds later, Hill muscled past his defender, posted up, and dunked his 17th goal of the year.

St. John’s refused to go away without a fight, scoring three straight goals to start the fourth quarter and trim its deficit to two, 11-9.

The Statesmen squelched any thoughts of a comeback with goals by David and Veltman in the final five minutes. Veltman also recorded five points on three goals and two assists, passing Hill’s record for points by a first-year (36 in 2002). Veltman has a team-leading 38 points (22-16) this season.

Hobart enjoyed a decided advantage at the faceoff X thanks to John Soden (Delbarton/Chester, N.J.). The sophomore won 19-of-26 restarts and scooped up a team-leading six ground balls. The Statesmen also outshot their guests 45-32 and picked up 43 ground balls to the Red Storm’s 33.

Hobart will close out the home portion of its schedule at 4 p.m. on April 26. The Statesmen will host Canisius College on Boswell Field. The game will serve as Fan Appreciation Day with all fans admitted free of charge.