GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart lacrosse team lost a hard-fought 11-6 ECAC contest to visiting Loyola College on Boswell Field this afternoon, spoiling the Statesmen’s Senior Day. The Greyhounds improve to 6-5 overall, 5-2 in the league, while Hobart slips to 6-7, 1-6.

Loyola sophomore Paul Richards (Baldwinsville/Baldwinsville, N.Y.) produced a game-high four points (1-3), while juniors Ryan Rabidou (Somers/Somers, N.Y.) and junior Cory Coffman (Riverside/Durham, N.C.) each added three goals. Sophomores Daryl Veltman (Salisbury School/Georgetown, Ontario) and Nick Currie (Corning East/Corning, N.Y.) and red-shirt first-year David O’Quinn (Robinson/Burke, Va.) each registered two points for the Statesmen.

O’Quinn opened the afternoon’s scoring just 88 seconds into the contest with a fine individual effort, blowing past his defender on the right side of the restraining box and firing home the first shot on goal of the game.

The Greyhounds equalized little more than three minutes later on Rabidou’s first strike, assisted by Richards. The game remained knotted at 1-1 over the next five minutes, before Loyola broke the stalemate. Richards netted the goal, assisted by junior Jordan Rabidou (Somers/Somers, N.Y.). The tally kicked off back-to-back-to-back scores by the ’Hounds, ballooning their lead to 4-1 in a span of just 84 seconds.

Veltman found the back of the net 17 seconds before the end of the first quarter, burying a feed from senior Patrick Meade (Schenectady/Schenectady, N.Y.) to make it a 4-2 game. Senior goalie Mike DeSantis (Mountain Lakes/Mountain Lakes, N.J.) kept Hobart close in the opening frame, making six of his 12 saves.

Loyola logged all three of the second quarter’s goals to seize control of the game. Junior Dan Bauers’ (Oakton/Oakton, Va.) team-leading 22 goal of the year sent the Greyhounds into the locker room with a 7-2 lead.

Hobart came out swinging in third quarter, sandwiching goals by Currie and O’Quinn around a single score for the visitors to trim the Statesmen’s deficit to four heading into the final stanza. Greyhound goalie Michael Frettwell (St. Mary’s/Annapolis, Md.) recorded five of his 13 stops in the third quarter to keep the Statesmen at arm’s length.

In the fourth quarter, Loyola struck twice before three minutes had run off the clock, but Hobart refused to go down without a fight. Sophomore Sean Murphy (Bishop Timon-St. Jude/Buffalo, N.Y.) made it a 10-5 game on a low, side-arm shot from five yards out at the 8:29 mark.

Just over a minute later, the Greyhounds had a prime opportunity to add to their lead. Ryan Rabidou charged in one-on-one with DeSantis on a breakaway, but his shot on the doorstep was stuffed by Hobart’s backstop. The Statesmen make the great play payoff when Veltman notched his team-leading 21st goal of the year, depositing a pass from first-year Jeff Colburn (CNS/Liverpool, N.Y.), to make it a 10-6 game with 6:52 remaining.

Unfortunately, that’s where Hobart’s comeback would end. Loyola controlled possession down the stretch and added an empty net goal with 37 ticks left on the clock.

Loyola outshot Hobart 39-32, and held a 37-34 advantage on ground balls. The Statesmen scored on 1-of-4 man-up opportunities and limited the Greyhounds’ second-ranked man-up unit to just 1-of-3.

Hobart closes out the regular season on May 5, when Cornell University visits McCooey Field. Faceoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the 126th meeting between the two lacrosse powers.