GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart lacrosse team ran into a hot goalie this afternoon at Boswell Field as 18th-ranked Penn State University escaped with a 9-4 ECAC Lacrosse League win. First-year Drew Adams (Springfield/Springfield, Pa.) posted 17 saves to lead the Nittany Lions to victory.

The Statesmen (4-5, 0-4 ECAC) won nearly every statistical category, except the one that matters most. Hobart outshot PSU 35-28, had more ground balls (34-23), and did a better job clearing (94.1% vs. 73.9%), but the Statesmen struggled to solve Adams, who posted his second highest save total of the season (he had 19 against Loyola).

Senior attackman Nate Whitaker (Thomas Jefferson/Great Falls, Va.) got Penn State (5-3, 3-1) on the board first, finishing a feed from junior midfielder Gil Pearsall (Carthage/Carthage, N.Y.), on the man-up at the 11:32 mark of the first quarter. It was the only goal of the day for Whitaker, who came into the game as the Nittany Lions’ scoring leader.

Hobart equalized two minutes later on first-year midfielder Brandon Buchmayr’s (Darien/Darien, Conn.) fourth goal of the year. Junior midfielder Chris David (Georgetown Prep/Silver Springs, Md.) earned the assist on the play.

Penn State answered with three straight goals, spanning the first and second quarters, to build a 4-1 lead. Senior long-stick midfielder Andrew Narog (Lawrence/North Wales, Pa.) stopped the run, collecting a loose ball off a faceoff and charging straight to the cage. The goal was his first of the season and just the second of his career. Narog and junior defenseman Chris Keough (Hicksville/Hicksville, N.Y.) both grabbed six ground balls to share game-high honors.

The Nittany Lions scored twice more before the break, including the first collegiate goal by first-year midfielder Matt Warner (Geneva/Geneva, N.Y.), to take a 6-2 lead into the break.

The Statesmen were never able to trim their deficit to fewer than four goals as the teams traded tallies throughout the second half.

Sophomore midfielder Sean Murphy (Bishop Timon-St. Jude/Buffalo, N.Y.) scored a pair of second half goals, the first with 0.7 seconds remaining in the third quarter, to pace Hobart. Senior goalie Mike DeSantis (Mountain Lakes/Mountain Lakes, N.J.) recorded eight saves for the Statesmen.

Pearsall, senior attackman John Eremus (Haverford School/Rosemont, Pa.), and sophomore midfielder Bubba Scott (St. Johns College/Rockville, Md.) each posted two goals and an assist to fuel Penn State. Senior Greg Gurenlian (Springfield/Springfield, Pa.) won 9-of-16 faceoffs and picked up a team-high five ground balls for the Nittany Lions.

Hobart’s four goals are the fewest by a Statesmen squad since April 27, 2002, when Loyola beat Hobart 14-3.

The Statesmen are back in action on April 15, when they travel to Massachusetts. Faceoff against the Minutemen is scheduled for 1 p.m.