It would be patronizing to consider Hobart one of Division I’s best-kept secrets in recent years. After all, the Statesmen are a known commodity in the sport with a rich history, and their 23-9 record since the start of the 2019 season hints at a program that is anything but an out-of-nowhere phenomenon.

Still, Hobart (2-0) earned a bit more attention than it has in recent years with its 14-13 victory over Lehigh on Saturday.

The same can be said for Adam Shea, a junior faceoff man who managed an even split with Mountain Hawks star Mike Sisselberger.

Shea was already an established FOGO, ranking ninth nationally in faceoff winning percentage last season at .633. But it is his first season with the bulk of the Statesmen’s work at the X after splitting time the last two years with Drew Blanchard, who left for Ohio State as a graduate transfer after last season.

“Getting Adam into a groove in terms of knowing he’s going back out there and knowing he can start the cadence with the officials a little bit and kind of have some leeway and rope to continue to get better throughout a game, I think that’s the product we’re starting to see,” Hobart coach Greg Raymond said. “But with a guy like Sisselberger, you have to have exceptional wing play. He’s too good at what he does. I think what makes Adam is the people we surround him with.”

That group includes junior long pole Marcus Trujillo and midfielders Bobby Baltzer, Kyle Driscoll, Josh Duby and Wylie Sherman. But perhaps the most influential player on the wings — and on defense — is long pole Dan Ryan.

Raymond considers Ryan the team’s strongest leader, and he’s also reflective of the roster stability the Statesmen have craved even in an era of significant player movement. He’s one of five Hobart players in their fifth season, joining Sherman, Ryan Archer, Frank Imburgia and Tommy Mott.

“I made a big point a couple years back that we really want Hobart guys, four-year and five-year guys,” Raymond said. “We actually don’t spend a ton of time on the transfer portal. We want to keep our guys out of it as much as possible. Obviously, you’re not a bad person if you’re on that. There’s just a different nature to this beast right now that we’ve never experienced with the size of rosters and guys going here and guys going there. I’m very proud of the fact we have five fifth-year guys back.”

While Ryan is a significant presence on defense, Archer (six goals, seven assists) and Mott (seven goals, five assists) anchor an offense that already has nine players with multiple goals. Archer had three goals and three assists Saturday against Lehigh.

It’s the foundation of a team capable of making a run at Hobart’s first NCAA tournament berth since a play-in appearance in 2016. The postseason is still more than two months away, but the Statemen’s veteran presence bodes well for the rest of the year — starting with Friday’s trip to Colgate.

“We’ve seen the effects early, in the fall and the spring where it’s like, ‘You know what, I think we can move on. I think our guys have got this, the experience has it, we don’t have to spend too much more time on this,’ and I think we’ve accelerated from a teaching standpoint in our preseason at a really good rate,” Raymond said. “Now it’s about if we can pin our ears back and if we can have a tough brand of lacrosse every single time we compete.”

NUMBERS OF NOTE

11

Goals in the third quarter for Bucknell in its 23-7 rout of St. John’s on Saturday, matching the school scoring record for a quarter. The Bison also scored 11 goals in a quarter in a 26-9 defeat of Denver in 1992.

24

Goals for Notre Dame in its season opener against Detroit, a program record against any Division I opponent. Pat Kavanagh had four goals and four assists for the Fighting Irish, who got goals from 14 players in the 24-2 triumph.

126

Career goals for Richmond attackman Ryan Lanchbury after dropping four in Saturday’s 18-4 pummeling of Marist, setting a program record. The graduate student passed Teddy Hatfield, who scored 124 goals for the Spiders. Lanchbury also broke Hatfield’s Southern Conference goals record in the process.

604

Career faceoff wins for Virginia’s Petey LaSalla, tied with Jack deVilliers for the most in program history. LaSalla, who has won 66.7 percent of his draws in two games this season, will look to take sole possession of the record Saturday when Syracuse visits Charlottesville.