No. 7 Cornell top Hobart 10-7

Courtesy of Hobart Athletics

SYRACUSE, N.Y.-The Hobart lacrosse team played seventh-ranked Cornell even in the second half, but could not overcome a slow start, falling in the season opener for both teams 10-7. The Big Red's Rob Pannell led all scorers with five points (2-3), while junior Tim Bigelow (Walpole, Mass.) added three points (1-2) to lead Hobart.

Cornell needed less than five minutes to seize a 3-0 lead. Senior Chris Ritchie and sophomore Scott Austin sandwiched even-strength goals around a man-up tally by junior Jon Thompson to get the Big Red going.

Bigelow got Hobart on the board with an unassisted marker midway through the opening frame. It remained a 3-1 game until the 8:28 mark of the second quarter when Bigelow set up senior Kevin Curtin's (Corcoran/Syracuse, N.Y.) first goal of the season, extending the latter's point streak to 15 games.

Cornell responded with another three-goal outburst with senior Ryan Hurley netting bookend goals around a Pannell tally. Hobart closed out the first half scoring when Bigelow again setup Curtin with 1:52 left in the half.

The Statesmen got within two early in the second half when senior Mike Lazore (Immaculate Heart/Carthage, N.Y.) ripped a shot from 12 yards out to make it a 6-4 game. The Big Red countered with three unanswered goals-the first two set up by Pannell, the last scored by the 2009 third-team All-American-to stretch their lead to 9-4 heading into the fourth quarter.

Senior Doug Shiver (Morristown, N.J.) gave Hobart a spark with a diving shot as he rolled up the left side of the crease. The unassisted goal was answered by sophomore Mitch McMichael, whose man-up goal gave Cornell a 10-5 lead.

Shiver scored again with 6:20 remaining, this time assisted by sophomore Chris Pedersen (Nyack, N.Y.) to make it a four-goal game and Pedersen added an unassisted goal less than two minutes later to close out the scoring.

Curtin, Pedersen, and Shiver all finished with two points for Hobart, while Austin, Hurley, McMichael, and Thompson each enjoyed two-point games for Cornell. The Big Red outshot the Statesmen 37-32 and were 2-for-5 on the extra-man.

Defensively, first-year AJ Fiore earned the win in goal with nine saves, while senior Max Silberlicht (New Hartford/New Hartford, N.Y.) turned back 13 for Hobart.

The Big Red won the ground ball battle, 34-22, but Hobart sophomore Bobby Dattilo (Derry, N.H.) collected a game-high five while winning 10-of-19 at the faceoff X.

The Statesmen will be back in action at 1 p.m. on Sat., March 6, when they visit Colgate. Cornell will travel to Canisius for a 4 p.m. contest on March 2.