May 15, 2004

ITHACA, N.Y.—Hobart lost to Cornell University 11-5 this afternoon at the Big Red’s Schoellkopf Field in the first round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Tournament. The Statesmen completed their most successful Division I season with a 9-7 record, while Cornell advances to the quarterfinal round with a 9-4 record.

The game began under ominous skies and seven minutes later rain accompanied by a symphony of thunder and lightning descended on the stadium, forcing the suspension of play for 49 minutes. Less than a minute after play resumed, Joe Boulukos scored the first of his game-high three goals to give the Big Red its first lead.

Eighteen seconds into the second quarter, Hobart first-year Chris David (Georgetown Prep/Silver Springs, Md.) netted the equalizer.

Back-to-back man-up goals midway through the second frame gave Cornell a 3-1 lead, before senior attackman Mark Williamson (Corning East/Corning, N.Y.) scored at the 5:05 mark to halve the Statesmen’s deficit.

Boulukos closed the first half scoring to give the Big Red a 4-2 lead at the break.

In a sequence that took some of the wind out of Hobart’s sails, the Statesmen ripped shots that struck the pipe and the crossbar in the final 10 seconds of the half. Hobart took four shots in the opening 30 minutes that struck iron.

Cornell dominated the third quarter, holding the Statesmen scoreless for the entire stanza while add three tallies to their side of the ledger. First-year Matt McMonagle came up big in goal for the Big Red, turning back five shots in the third quarter en route to a 14-save performance.

At the other end of the field, Cornell’s offense used a maddening patience to simply wear down Hobart’s defense. The Big Red passed around the perimeter until the perfect opportunity presented itself, converting on nearly every try. The Statesmen played good defense for most of the game, but they simply were forced to play too much defense.

Trailing 8-2 early in the fourth quarter, Williamson struck for his team-leading 35th goal of the season, breaking the team’s scoring drought that lasted nearly 24 minutes. Junior attackman Nate Hill (Hamburg/Hamburg, N.Y.) added a pair of goals in the final 11 minutes as the defenses loosened up during the seven-goal fourth quarter.

Junior goalie Dan Valente (Mt. Hebron/Ellicott City, Md.) recorded 10 saves in the game and finished the season with an 8.84 goals against average, the lowest by a Hobart starter since the program moved to Division I in 1995.

Williamson closed out his career with a 56-point season, the most by a Statesman since Cabel Maddux ’94 recorded 71 in 1993, while Hill finished the season with 26 assists, the most by a Division I Statesman.