Men's Lax Heads to Hobart Saturday in Homecoming for Bison Coaches

Bucknell (2-1) at Hobart (1-1)
When: Saturday, Feb. 22, 12 p.m.
Where: Stiles Field at the Thomas B. Poole '61 and Family Sports Dome
Watch: HWSAthletics.com
Live Stats: HWSAthletics.com

Bucknell at a Glance

Head coach Frank Fedorjaka and assistant coaches Tom Gravante and Matt Kerwick, all former standout players at Hobart in the 1980s, return to their alma mater as the Bison take on the Statesmen in Geneva on Saturday afternoon.
After opening the season with wins over Merrimack and St. Bonaventure, the Bison dropped a 13-11 decision at Dartmouth last Saturday. Bucknell scored four straight goals to tie the game at 11-11, only to see the Big Green score two late tallies to win it.
Bucknell scored 20 or more goals in consecutive games for the first time in team history when it piled up 23 against Merrimack and 21 against St. Bonaventure. The Bison enter the weekend ranked second nationally in goals per game at 18.3, trailing only Notre Dame at 23.0.
The Bison also rank fourth nationally in extra-man offense (.750), fifth in shot percentage (.362), eighth in ground balls (36.0), and 12th in caused turnovers (10.0).
Bucknell features the Patriot League's top two point-producers in Michael Meyer (11-9-20) and Connor Davis (17-2-19). Davis leads the nation in goals per game (5.67), and Meyer (6.67) an Davis (6.33) are third and fifth, respectively, in points per game. Davis' three man-up goals are also tied for the most in the country.
Will Hopkins (4-5-9) is the third member of the starting attack trio, and he is also off to a strong start after moving from midfield to attack this season.
Peter Grandolfo (4-3-7), Sean Berrigan (3-4-7), Owen Kovacs (5-1-6), Luke Brunner (4-1-5), and Anthony Panetti (2-3-5) all have at least five points.
Defensive middie John Young leads the team with 15 ground balls, while top faceoff man Ben Concepcion has 10. Concepcion is 28-for-49 (.571) on the season.
Will Pickering leads the defensive unit with six caused turnovers, while Louie Germain has four. Freshman LSM Ollie Hau has five CTs thus far.
The Bison are a solid 86.8 percent on clears through three games, while holding opponents to 80.0 percent.
Bucknell's EMO unit is a terrific 9-for-12 thus far, while opponents are only 4-for-16.
A 1989 Hobart graduate, Fedorjaka was a starting long-stick midfielder on three NCAA Division III national championship teams. He was also a three-year starter at wide receiver for the Statesman football team, earning All-America honors in 1988. The Rochester, N.Y., native was named Hobart's Athlete of the Year in 1989. During his career at Hobart, he held all reception records and remained the school's all-time leading receiver until 2004.
A 1990 Hobart graduate, where he was a lacrosse teammate of Fedorjaka, Kerwick was a two-time All-American, won four straight Division III national championships, and was named MVP of the 1989 NCAA Tournament. He was also a standout defenseman on the Statesmen hockey team, and he received the William C. Stiles Award, presented to the Hobart senior student-athlete for leadership, determination, and character. Kerwick's son, Sean, is a freshman on the Bison squad this season.
A 1988 Hobart graduate, Gravante was a four-year letterman and standout attackman. He helped the Statesmen capture the NCAA Division III National Championship in each of his four seasons and was a two-time First Team All-American, notching 66 goals and 22 assists for 88 points as a senior. For over 10 years, he held Division III tournament records for goals in a game (7) and goals in the tournament (17). Gravante was inducted into Hobart's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.

Hobart at a Glance

The Statesmen are off to a 1-1 start in 2025. Hobart opened the season with a 21-12 win over Canisius on Feb. 8, and last Saturday it fell 15-9 to No. 17/19 Michigan.
Alex Rosa led the offense with five goals in the win over Canisius, and 11 different Statesmen hit the back of the next.
Hobart held an 8-5 lead in the third quarter against Michigan, but the Wolverines finished the game on a 10-1 run. Rosa was again Hobart's top goal-scorer with four, giving him a team-high nine on the season. The senior is already more than halfway to last year's season total of 17 goals.
Will Delano (6-0-6) and David Peterkin (1-5-6) are also off to strong starts offensively.
Hobart has won 62.9 percent of its faceoffs (39-62) through two games. Cole Emmanuel is 24-for-38 (.632) with 15 ground balls and two assists. Mike Valent is 9-for-14 (.643) with five ground balls along with a goal and two assists.
Jackson Faiola has played every minute in goal so far and has 17 saves with 27 goals against.
Hobart finished 4-9 overall and 1-4 in the Atlantic 10 last season.

The Bucknell-Hobart Series

Bucknell is 9-15 all-time against Hobart, which was a member of the Patriot League in men's lacrosse from 2000-04. Bucknell and Hobart shared Patriot League championships in 2000 and 2002.
Hobart won the first seven meetings, all in the 1970s, before the Bison picked up a 12-8 victory on the way to an undefeated season in 1996.
This will be the first meeting between the Bison and Statesmen since 2012, when Bucknell won 14-10 at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. The Bison have won three straight and five of the last six in the series. Hobart's lone win in that stretch was a 7-2 pitchers' duel in 2009.
In the last matchup in 2012, Todd Heritage scored eight goals on nine shots and Kyle Feeney made 13 saves to lead the Bison to the 14-10 win. Bucknell outscored Hobart 7-2 in the second quarter to take control of the game.

Next Up

Bucknell wraps up a four-game road stretch next Saturday with a Patriot League matchup against Holy Cross. It's a 1 p.m. start in Worcester, Mass.

Men's Lax Heads to Hobart Saturday in Homecoming for Bison Coaches

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Sean Berrigan

Luke Brunner

Ben Concepcion

Connor Davis

Louie Germain

Peter Grandolfo

Ollie Hau

Will Hopkins

Owen Kovacs

Michael Meyer

Anthony Panetti

Will Pickering

John Young

Men's Lax Heads to Hobart Saturday in Homecoming for Bison Coaches

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Sean Berrigan

Luke Brunner

Ben Concepcion

Connor Davis

Louie Germain

Peter Grandolfo

Ollie Hau

Will Hopkins

Owen Kovacs

Michael Meyer

Anthony Panetti

Will Pickering

John Young

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