Feb. 10, 2011
By Will Donley, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Nittany Lions host their second and final preseason scrimmage Saturday against Hobart College at 2:00 p.m. Weather permitting; the game will be played on Bigler Field. If outdoor temperatures continue to plummet, the game may be moved indoors to Holuba Hall.
In preparation for this weekend's action, let us take a look at the 2011 Hobart College Statesmen: a team looking to improve on last season's 3-11 record.
Hobart is led by senior co-captains Evan Kirk and Mike O'Brien. Kirk (Orangeville, Ontario) played in six games and recorded eight saves last season as a reserve goaltender for the Statesmen. O'Brien (East Haven, Conn.) started all 14 games as a defenseman last spring. He picked up 23 ground balls and caused 10 turnovers.
Kirk and O'Brien are joined on defense by senior Paul Reintjes and sophomore Sean Regan. Reintjes (Mission Hills, Kan.) played in all 14 games last season, starting three. He scooped up four ground balls and caused six turnovers. Regan (Canandaigua, N.Y.) saw action in all 14 games, starting 12. As a freshman, he picked up 12 ground balls and caused seven turnovers. Senior long stick midfielder Alex Caton (Rochester, N.Y.) is talented offensively. He scored four goals and added three assists while picking up 62 ground balls last season.
On offense, junior attackman Chris Pederson (Nyack, N.Y.) leads all returning Statesmen after scoring 17 goals and adding 16 assists a year ago. He is joined by junior attackman Sam Miller (Yarmouth, Maine) who tallied 17 goals and four assists last spring. Sophomore Tyler Simmons (Belvedere, Calif.) appeared in 12 games last season, scoring two goals and one assist.
The Statesmen welcomed five freshman attackman to campus last fall. Alex Love (Geneva, N.Y.), Kyle Lusted (Courtice, Ontario), Jake McHenry (Hudson, Ohio), Konner Scroggins (Charlotte, N.C.) and Cam Stone (Syracuse, N.Y.) are all vying for time at the attack or at the midfield this spring.
Hobart returns preseason Honorable Mention All-American Bobby Dattilo at the face off. A year ago, Dattilo (Derry, N.H.) boasted the nation's eighth-ranked winning percentage at .578. He was 167-289 and picked up 67 ground balls.
Sophomore Tyler Smith and Junior Matt Campbell are the only returning Statesmen with experience at the midfield. Smith (Harding, N.J.) scored three goals and added one assist last season, and Campbell (Chatham, N.J.) picked up four ground balls last spring.
A mixture of inexperienced upperclassmen and underclassman expect fill the rest of the spots at the midfield for Hobart.
T.W. Johnson enters his third season as head coach of the Hobart College Statesmen. He is assisted by Hobart alumnus Mark Williamson, as well as John Svec and Terry Muffley.
Will Donley, Senior Attackman, Penn State Men's Lacrosse Team, GoPSUsports.com
