October 12, 2006

GENEVA, N.Y.—Hobart Director of Athletics Mike Hanna ’68 recently announced the 2007 Statesmen lacrosse schedule. Hobart will host seven of its 14 regular season games, and will enjoy a three-game home-stand in March.

The Statesmen will open their 12th season as a Division I program by traveling to Syracuse on Feb. 18. Hobart will play host to Binghamton on March 3 for its first home match, and will kick off its ECAC Lacrosse League schedule, as well as its three-game home-stand, on March 17 when it hosts Georgetown. The Statesmen will also host Rutgers (3/24) and Fairfield (3/31), before hitting the road again to play Penn State. On April 14th, Hobart will host national runner-up UMass for Alumni Lettermen’s Weekend. The Statesmen will end their regular season schedule on May 4 when they travel to Cornell for the 127th meeting between the two teams, the oldest rivalry in collegiate lacrosse.

“After a very productive fall we are looking forward to our season opener,” said sixth-year Head Coach Matt Kerwick. “Heading back to the dome to play against Syracuse on Feb. 18 will obviously be a great test for the team. Once again, we are excited to play one of the top schedules in collegiate lacrosse. With strong leadership and continued commitment from a deep group of athletes, we are confident that we will compete for an ECAC title this spring.”

Kerwick, joined by assistant coaches T.W. Johnson, Jim Morrissey, and Terry Muffley, welcomes back 26 players and seven starters from last year’s roster that posted a 6-8 overall record, including a 9-8 victory at Syracuse to take home the Kraus-Simmons Trophy. Junior all-ECAC selection Daryl Veltman (Salisbury School/Georgetown, Ontario) (22 goals-9 assists-31 points), along with classmates Nick Curry (Corning East/Corning, N.Y.) (19-8-27) and Sean Murphy (Bishop Timon-St. Jude/Buffalo, N.Y.) (14-7-21), and senior Chris David (Georgetown Prep/Silver Springs, Md.) (15-4-19) all return to the fold after leading the Statesmen offense in 2006, while junior Dan Spinella (New Hartford/New Hartford, N.Y.) returns at the faceoff X (97-60, .618). Seniors Chris Keough (Hicksville/Hicksville, N.Y.) and Matt Ranaghan (Cape Elizabeth/Cape Elizabeth, Maine), and junior Rafe Mattingly (Rush-Henrietta/Henrietta, N.Y.) return to anchor the defense.

A complete Hobart lacrosse schedule can be found online at web.hws.edu/athletics/hobart/lacrosse/schedule.asp.