April 12, 2003

DENVER--For the first time this season, Hobart’s opponent scored the first goal of the game. It was not a good sign.

The University of Denver lacrosse team scored eight of the game’s first nine goals en route to a 15-8 victory over the visiting Statesmen this afternoon at Pioneer Field in front of 540 sun drenched fans. The loss drops Hobart to 5-5, while Denver improves to 5-4.

The Pioneers charged out to a 3-0 lead before sophomore Nate Hill (Hamburg/Hamburg, N.Y.) set up first-year Mike Conklin’s (West Genesee/Syracuse, N.Y.) 12th goal of the season. At least one of the two had a hand in seven of Hobart’s eight goals on the day.

As the second quarter began, Hobart trailed 3-1, but Denver netted five unanswered goals in the first six minutes of the frame to build an 8-1 advantage. The Statesmen halted the run at the 6:18 mark when Conklin returned the favor, setting up Hill’s eighth goal of the year.

Hobart trailed 8-2 heading into halftime.

The Pioneers struck first in the second half, but the Statesmen responded just 10 seconds later. Following Denver’s ninth score, senior Tim Booth (Waterloo/Waterloo, N.Y.) won the ensuing faceoff and raced into the restraining area, feeding sophomore Sean Reed (Waterloo/Waterloo, N.Y.) who fired home Hobart’s third tally.

The quick strike sparked a 3-0 Hobart run with Conklin and senior John Bogosian (Kent School/Massena, N.Y.) accounting for the other two goals, to pull the Statesmen to within four, 9-5. Hobart was still within striking distance with 8:33 remaining, 10-6, but the Pioneers scored five of the next six goals to put the game out of reach.

Conklin finished with a career-high matching four goals and an assist, while Hill contributed a goal and four assists. Bogosian chipped in a pair of scores. Booth enjoyed another strong outing at the faceoff X, winning 14-of-22 and collecting a game-high eight ground balls, in addition to two assists.

Hobart outshot Denver 44-36, but the hot goaltending of Jeff Nuziato (19 saves) kept the Statesmen attack at bay. Senior Mike Borsz (West Genesee/Camillus, N.Y.) and junior Dan Valente (Mt. Hebron/Ellicott City, Md.) combined for seven saves.

The Statesmen will close out their Patriot League schedule on April 19, when Army visits Geneva for a 1 p.m. faceoff at the AstroTurf Stadium. A pivotal conference match up, Hobart, Army, Colgate, and Bucknell all begin the week with just a single loss in league play. The Patriot League regular season champion wins an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.