clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Hobart Lacrosse Schedule: An Upstate Portrait

Hobart may put the Erie Canal back to use this year.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE PROPAGANDA: UNRELEASED
THIS IS WHY WE FIGHT: THE SCHEDULE

Hobart hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2004. That's almost inconceivable considering that the program held four invitations to The Big Barbecue between 1998 and 2004, making appearances every other year in that span. A decade of postseason exclusion -- one mandated through NCAA sanction -- has altered the momentum the Statesmen seemed to have going, suffering through a 56-84 record over the last 10 seasons (an average 6-8 campaign). Greg Raymond has some work to do this season out by the lake.

Here are some schedule highlights and games of note:

You Guys From Around Here?
February 14: at Siena; February 21: Cornell; February 28: at Binghamton; March 3: Colgate; March 10: Canisius; April 14: at Syracuse

If you are a lacrosse team located in the Albany-Buffalo corridor, Hobart is probably playing you. The only school from that corridor of the state that won't see the Statesmen in the regular season is Albany; everything else from the Capital Region all the way to Western New York will make an appearance on Hobart's slate. Basically, this is a geographic xenophobe's dream: Hobart doesn't need to acknowledge the reality of other regions in the country, claiming lacrosse superiority over the entire universe of lacrosse -- which only exists between Albany and Buffalo -- if the Statesmen, like, don't die against these teams. And considering that Hobart doesn't need to play any of these teams -- none of these dates are conference games! -- it becomes clear that the Statesmen chose to create a schedule that featured teams located in places on old snowmobiling maps kicking around the office.

Hamster in a Wheel
February 28: at Binghamton; March 2: Colgate; March 7: at Georgetown; March 10: Canisius; March 14: at Towson

Five games in 15 days, alternating between road trips and home games. Don't flip over, Hobart.

For the 136th Time
February 21: Cornell

Things I feel fairly confident about regarding this game:

  • Cornell will probably win. The Red are -- according to Cornell's record book -- 84-47-4 against Hobart in the history of the rivalry. (The first meeting between the two schools in 1896 resulted in a 2-1 win for the Statesmen, which probably started a fervent shot clock debate before the turn of the century.) The Red are on a 10-game winning streak against Hobart with an average margin of victory of six goals per game (the last win that the Statesmen have had against Cornell came in 2004, a 12-10 victory that Cornell avenged in the NCAA Tournament).
  • There will be feet of snow in Geneva. This game has #SPRINGSPORT written all over it. Anything that happens outside in February in the Finger Lakes Region/Central New York should be postponed until July, when it will finally be canceled due to mosquitoes. Fans will huddle over a pot of salt potatoes for warmth and wonder whether it's possible to settle the rivalry through a day-long ice fishing contest.
  • This will still make me laugh (that came was canceled):