Abladian's big day sparks second half rally as Bryant beats Hobart

GENEVA, N.Y. – Bennett Abladian scored six goals and finished with seven points as the Bryant University men's lacrosse team rallied from a 6-3 deficit to defeat Hobart, 14-11, on Saturday afternoon at Boswell Field.

Bryant trailed 6-3 early in the third quarter but outscored the Statemen 5-2 in the third quarter pulled away in the fourth to win for the second-straight time in Geneva. The Bulldogs had won just one game at Hobart prior to last year's NEC Semifinal.

Abladian was the spark Bryant needed, scoring four of his career-high six goals in the second half. Logan McGovern recorded a six-point effort with three goals and three assists, while Marc O'Rourke (2g, 1a) and Kevin Groeninger (2g) each scored twice. Nathan Laliberte won 14-of-26 faceoffs.     

Game Information
Bryant 14, Hobart 11
Records: Bryant 4-4, 2-0 NEC, Hobart 2-4, 0-2 NEC
Location: Boswell Field (Geneva, N.Y.)

Coach Pressler's Comments
Today versus our conference rival Hobart was certainly a tale of two halves. Very disappointed with our offensive execution in the first 30 minutes. At times, we couldn't turn it over fast enough. Our defense kept us in the game. Some great halftime adjustments by Coach Harrington versus their zone defense got us back in contention. Down 6-3 early in the third there was no panic from our guys. Just better overall execution at both ends of the field in the last 30 minutes. We got what we expected; a tough, physical, hard-fought, close NEC game decided in the end."

Key Moment

• Abladian and McGovern scored a minute apart to tie the game in the third and Abladian finished a beautiful feed with one second left in the third quarter to give the Bulldogs an 8-7 lead.         

How it Happened

• Hobart notched the first two goals on Saturday before Abladian and McGovern responded with goals to tie the game after one quarter.
• Abladian notched his second goal in the second quarter but the Statesmen scored three times to take a 5-3 lead to the break.
• Bradley Simas and Alex Rosa scored for Hobart to give the Statesmen a 7-4 lead with 10:02 to go in the third quarter.
• Aidan Goltz then started a four-goal run for the Bulldogs to end the quarter. He collected a ground ball and then dodged to his left before rifling a shot home.
• Abladian then took a feed from McGovern and fired it home as he went to the turf to pull the Bulldogs within a goal. Less than a minute later, O'Rourke rifled a pass to McGovern at the edge of the crease and McGovern dunked it home to tie the game.
• O'Rourke then found Abladian with a perfect pass through the Hobart zone and Abladian dodged to his left before potting it home with a second left in the third.
• Hobart would tie the game at the start of the fourth but McGovern would find Groeninger in the middle of the zone for a quick score to make it 9-8.
• O'Rourke and Abladian made it a three-goal run to give the Bulldogs an 11-8 lead with 10:17 remaining. O'Rourke unleashed a howitzer, while Abladian and McGovern worked a perfect switch behind the cage to give Abladian enough space to pot his fifth.
• Abladian would add his sixth with 7:24 left, O'Rourke unleashed a perfectly-placed shot to the top right corner with 2:16 left and McGovern hit an empty net with :41 seconds left to close the scoring.        

Stats

• Hobart outshot Bryant, 53-41.
• Bryant won the ground ball game, 32-31.
• Bryant committed 22 turnovers.
• The faceoffs were even 14-14.
• Abladian posted seven points with six goals and an assist.
• McGovern posted three goals and three assists.
• O'Rourke and Groeninger each had two goals. O'Rourke added an assist for a three-point day.
• Laliberte won 14-of-26 faceoffs and had seven ground balls.     

Game Notes

• Bryant now leads the series with Hobart, 9-6.
• The Bulldogs were 1-4 in their first five trips to Geneva but have won each of their last two.
• O'Rourke now has 135 goals and 191 career points. He's 9 points shy of becoming only second player in DI program history with 200+ career points.
• Abladian recorded his fifth hat trick of the year and has 22 goals on the season.
• Abladian set career highs in goals and points.
• McGovern recorded his 100th career point on Saturday.  

Up Next
Bryant returns to the Beirne Stadium next Saturday to host Long Island. Faceoff is set for 12:00 p.m.