Hobart LAX Prepares to Take on St. John’s Saturday

The Hobart lacrosse team will play its final non-conference game of the season against St. John’s in Ridgefield, Connecticut. The Statesmen and Red Storm will square off at noon, Saturday, March 22 at Ridgefield High School.

Tickets to Ridgefield’s Tiger Hollow Stadium are $10 for adults, $6 for students and can be purchased online.

The game will be broadcast live on WEOS-FM (89.5/90.3) in Geneva. The showdown between the former ECAC Lacrosse League rivals will also be webcast on YouTube.

FOR THE RECORD

• Hobart carries a 3-5 record into the contest following a tough loss at Dartmouth last Saturday.
• St. John’s is 3-6 following a 20-16 victory over Mercer last Saturday.

TALE OF THE TAPE

• Goals Per Game: Hobart 11.13, St. John’s 11.89
• Goals Against Per Game: Hobart 15.0, St. John’s 14.44
• Extra-man Offense: Hobart .290, St. John’s .351
• Extra-man Defense: Hobart .680, St. John’s .760
• Faceoff Winning Percentage: Hobart .632, St. John’s .446
• Clear Percentage: Hobart .877, St. John’s .827
• Ground Balls Per Game: Hobart 34.0, St. John’s 32.56
• Turnovers Per Game: Hobart 17.0, St. John’s 19.44

SERIES SNAPSHOT

• Saturday will mark the sixth meeting between the Statesmen and Red Storm.
• Hobart leads the series 4-1, including victories in each of the past two matchups.
• It will be the first game between the teams since 2009 and the first to be played at a neutral site.

FACE FACTS

• The Statesmen have one of the top faceoff units in the nation. Hobart enters the weekend sixth in Division I in faceoff winning percentage (.632) and 14th in the country in ground balls per game (34.0).
• Graduate student Cole Emmanuel leads the way. He’s had a winning record in every game this season. Emmauel is 10th in the nation with a .632 winning percentage and 20th with a 6.25 ground ball average.
• Junior Seamus Schofield (.660) and sophomore Mike Valent (.610) also have winning percentages that exceed 60%, but haven’t taken enough faceoffs to qualify for the national rankings.

SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE

• It will be strength vs. strength when Hobart gets the ball and has to clear its defensive zone.
• The Statesmen are 18th in the nation in clearing percentage (.877), while the Red Storm ride has limited their opposition to a .714 clearing rate (10th in Division I).

SCORING LEADERS

• Hobart features five players with 10 or more points on the season led by senior Will Delano’s 21 points on 12 goals and a team-high nine assists.
• St. John’s has six players with 10 or more points paced by senior Brian Kelly. He leads the Red Storm with 21 goals, 17 assists and 38 points.

LAST LINE OF DEFENSE

• Hobart sophomore goalie Jackson Faiola returned to the lineup last week at Dartmouth after missing two games due to injury. He’s averaging 11.0 saves per game and is 2-4.
• Graduate student Patrick Scarborough has played in seven games, starting six for St. John’s. He’s averaging 13.0 saves per game and is 3-4.

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