Hobart Alums Score, Again
21 July 2009 Hobart Alums Score, Again
Several alumni participated in the annual Vail Lacrosse Shootout in Vail, Colo., last month. In its second season in existence, The Grandmasters Division, composed of players 50 years of age and older, saw the Polar Statesmen-the 50-plus team featuring nine Hobart alumni-earn the tournaments championship.
The championship game started slowly, with the USA Stars and the Polar Statesmen tied at 1-1 for a good portion of the first quarter. The Polar Statesmen then began to rally en route to scoring 10 straight goals, leaving the scoreboard 11-2 at halftime. The second half continued the assault as the Statesmen refused to let up, finally winning 18-4.
It appeared as if the Polar Statesmen would have fared well in any of the younger divisions. Scott Petosa 80 set the pace with five goals and dished two assists while John Hayes 77 chipped in four goals as well. Their teammate Tom Chancler watched over the middle of the field with a long stick and also played a good deal of offense.
The Polar Statesmen featured several players who won an NCAA Division 3 National Championship with Hobart in the mid-1980s. The men helped inspire the subsequent Statesmen teams, who won 13 consecutive national championships. Scott Walker 80, Fred Mosher 80, P08, Hans Kaiser 80, John Bodnar 80 and Allen Lovejoy 79, all contributed to the winning effort. This latter winning generation also made an appearance at the Vail Lacrosse Shootout in the Supermasters Division as the Elder Statesmen.
In addition to Kaiser and Bodnar, six other Hobart grads Sean Fox 84, Kevin Martin 82, Mike Martin 84, Lance Savage 90, Jeff Vivian 81 and Marty Wood 84 played for the Elder Statesmen. (Vivian, Kaiser, Bodnar and Kevin Martin also played in the Grandmasters divisions for the Polar Statesmen.)
The Elder Statesmen put forth a valiant effort, leading much of their championship game, but unfortunately fell to Millennium/Team Rock-it Pocket, with a final score of 12-11.