September 8, 2004

GENEVA, N.Y.—The Rochester Institute of Technology tallied a pair of first-half goals and hung on to beat Hobart College, 2-1, in non-conference soccer action this evening on a soggy Cozzens Field.

Having to battle the rain and wet field conditions, both teams had to adjust its play in the opening minutes. It didn’t take long for RIT (3-0-0) to adapt as they jumped to a 1-0 lead in just the fourth minute off a goal from senior Joe Sheflin (Geneseo/Geneseo, N.Y.). The Statesmen (0-3-0) battled back to get some shots of their own, but it was the Tigers who struck again next, when junior Mike Lawson’s (Wall/Wall, N.J.) shot from 30 yards out snuck under the crossbar.

Trailing 2-0 after the first half, Hobart senior midfielder Dan Abroms (Pomfret School/New Canaan, N.J.) headed a Micke Subotowicz (Farsta Gymnasium/Stockholm, Sweden) corner kick past RIT goalie Nate Andrews (Greece Arcadia/Rochester, N.Y.) to make it a 2-1 game in the 55th minute.

The Statesmen continued to press forward late in the stanza, but the Tiger defense stayed strong and hung on for the 2-1 victory. Hobart outshot RIT 19-14 and held a 9-4 advantage on corner kicks.

First-year goalie Ben Tamberella (St. Peter’s Prep/Hoboken, N.J.) made six stops for the Statesmen, while Andrews corralled four saves for the Tigers.

Hobart will hit the road for the first time this season on Sept. 11, traveling to play Brockport State. That game is scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m.