November 28, 2006

GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart College lacrosse team will start the 2007 season ranked 25th according to the Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook preseason top 25 which was released today. The Statesmen will face off against six teams ranked in the poll, including four in the top 10.

Defending national champion Virginia claimed the top spot with Johns Hopkins, Syracuse, Princeton, and Georgetown rounding out the top five.

Hobart returns 23 veterans, including five starters, from last season’s 6-8 squad. Five of the team’s top six scorers return led by junior attackman Daryl Veltman (Salisbury School/Georgetown, Ontario). The 2005 ECAC Rookie of the Year and a 2006 All-ECAC second-team pick scored 22 goals and dished out nine assists for 31 points last season. With 81 career points, Veltman is well on his way to becoming just the sixth Statesman to score 100 career points at the Division I level.

Midfielders junior Nick Currie (Corning East/Corning, N.Y.), junior Sean Murphy (Bishop Timon-St. Jude/Buffalo, N.Y.), and senior Chris David (Georgetown Prep/Silver Spring, Md.) bring 27, 21, and 19 points back to the lineup, respectively.

Also in the midfield, Hobart boasts, not one, but two of the best faceoff men in the game in junior Dan Spinella (New Hartford/New Hartford, N.Y.) and senior John Soden (Delbarton/Chester, N.J.). Spinella led the ECAC and ranked fourth in the nation with a .618 winning percentage, while Soden was 28th in the nation (.507).

Senior Chris Keough (Hicksville/Hicksville, N.Y.) and junior Rafe Mattingly (Rush-Henrietta/Henrietta, N.Y.) return from a 2006 defense that allowed just 9.5 goals per game.

The Statesmen open the season on Feb. 18, when they travel to the Carrier Dome to take on the Orange. Hobart also will square off with No. 5 Georgetown (March 17), No. 8 Cornell (May 4), No. 10 Massachusetts (April 14), No. 12 Loyola (April 28), and No. 17 Penn State (April 7).

2007 Face-Off Yearbook Top 25

   Team           2006 Record
1  Virginia              17-0
2  Johns Hopkins          9-5
3  Syracuse              10-5
4  Princeton             11-5
5  Georgetown            11-3
6  Duke                   6-2
7  Maryland              12-5
8  Cornell               11-3
9  Navy                  11-4
10 Massachusetts         13-5
11 Towson                 8-6
12 Loyola                 6-6
13 Pennsylvania          10-4
14 Denver                12-5
15 Hofstra               17-2
16 Notre Dame            10-5
17 Penn State             8-5
18 UMBC                  10-5
19 Delaware              12-5
20 Albany                 8-7
21 North Carolina        4-10
22 Dartmouth              8-7
23 Harvard                6-7
24 Army                   8-7
25 Hobart                 6-8