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By Brian Hungarter
Associate Sports Editor
Faced with the opportunity of sealing an undefeated ECAC campaign and potentially earning a home game in the first round of the NCAA tournament, the Loyola men's lacrosse effort lacked the necessary intensity to knock off fellow ECAC rival Hobart, as the Hounds fell 10-6 Saturday in New York.
While the game did not carry entirely too much weight for the Hounds following their ECAC title clinching victory at Fairfield April 19, it is a game head coach Charlie Toomey would like to have back leading up to the NCAA tournament.
"The loss is a big deal in the sense that you want to go into the (NCAA) tournament with as much momentum as physically possible and improve your seed with every opportunity you get. We have to give Hobart credit though, they wanted the game more and we got what we probably deserved."
Hobart out-hustled the energy deficient Greyhounds in all facets of the game, out-shooting Loyola 41-34, taking the face-off battle 10-8, and defensively with goalie Max Silberlicht recording a career high 18 saves.
Inside the numbers, junior Michael Atkinson struggled filling in for the injured Tim McDermott taking face-offs, as he came out on top of only three of his 11 opportunities. Atkinson was clearly not the only reason for Loyola's struggles on the day however, as the team lacked the necessary energy to defeat it's ECAC rival.
"It looked as if we were just going through the motions as a team out there," Toomey said. "We did not bring our "A" game and in this league you have to bring your "A" game every time you step on the field if you expect to win. They played with a lot more energy then we did."
Showcasing that specific lack of energy, Hobart stunned the Hounds as they jumped out to an early 2-0 lead only three minutes into the first quarter through unassisted goals from seniors Sean Murphy and Jamie Kirk respectively. Loyola responded strongly, as goals from Collin Finnerty, Chris Basler and Cooper MacDonnell gave the Greyhounds their only lead of the game at 3-2 early in the second quarter.
This Loyola run was derailed due to Hobart running off six face-off victories in a row, four of which led to goals and a 6-3 Hobart lead. Goals from Junior P.T. Ricci followed by Finnerty's second score of the day kept Loyola within two goals at 6-4 and 7-5, but the Hobart attack proved to be too much for Loyola on the day as the Statesmen scored three of the game's final four goals and ran off with the 10-6 victory.
Among the dismal performance Saturday, freshman Jake Hagelin played strong in net, recording 16 saves, and was a strong fortress at the back preventing a more devastating loss. "Hagelin stood-out as our best player on the field," Toomey said, "he has really played great for us this season and is a large part of our success."
With the loss behind them, Loyola immediately looks to this weekend's clash with fellow Baltimore rival and the number six ranked Johns Hopkins Blue Jays on Senior Day at Diane Geppi-Aikens Field. Luckily for Toomey, he does not fear a lack of energy or motivation in his Hounds for the regular season finale.
"It is lucky in a way that we are moving on to play Hopkins because I do not have to work extra hard to inspire the team for their Senior Day game against such a strong program. Hopkins is very exciting for us every year at the tail-end of the season and the emotions bring themselves. I look forward to a good week of practice and getting our guys healthy for the remainder of the year."
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