The Hobart lacrosse team gave new head coach Stephen Brundage a winning start on Saturday, pulling away early and defeating Canisius 13-8 inside the Poole Family Dome.
The Statesmen set the tone from the opening whistle, racing out to a 6-1 lead after the first quarter and never looking back. Hobart scored on six of its nine shots in the opening frame while applying constant pressure on the ride, holding Canisius to just 40 percent clearing in the quarter. The Golden Griffins finished the game at 52 percent clearing, and Hobart did not allow Canisius to score back-to-back goals until the fourth quarter.
Sophomore Daniel Cano led the Hobart offense with a first-quarter hat trick and finished with four points. Senior Connor DiTomasso added four points of his own with two goals and two assists. At the faceoff X, senior Seamus Schofield won 10 of 15 draws and picked up a game-high seven ground balls.
First-year defenseman Colman Craft had a standout performance, causing five turnovers, while classmate Michael Johnson earned the win in his collegiate debut, stopping 14 shots in goal.
After a scoreless opening five minutes, Cano jump-started the offense with two goals in a 47-second span to give Hobart a lead it would not give up. Canisius got on the board midway through the quarter, but the Statesmen answered with four straight goals to seize control. First-year players Rufus Robertson and Gordon Bennett each scored their first collegiate goals during the run.
The teams traded goals in the second quarter as Hobart extended its lead to 8-3 at halftime. Johnson continued to shine, turning aside four shots in the period.
Hobart put the game out of reach in the third quarter, using a three-goal surge to stretch a 10-5 lead to 13-5 heading into the final period. Five different Statesmen found the back of the net in the quarter.
Canisius scored three times in the fourth, but Johnson closed the door with five more saves over the final 15 minutes as Hobart secured the 13-8 victory.
The game also marked a historic afternoon for Hobart’s first-year players. Craft’s five caused turnovers tied for the second-most in a single game in program history and are the most ever by a first-year Statesman. Johnson became the first Hobart first-year to start a season opener in goal in more than 26 years, recording the most saves by a first-year goalie since 2007.
Hobart will hit the road next, opening a three-game road trip with a matchup against Central New York rival Colgate on Saturday, February 14.
