St. Lawrence University senior captain Sam DeMello scored two goals in the second half, leading the men's soccer team to a key 3-0 Liberty League victory over Hobart College at Sandy MacAllaster Field on Saturday afternoon. The goals pushed DeMello over 100 career points, becoming only the second player in University history to reach the century mark.

St. Lawrence improves to 11-1-0 overall and 3-1 in league, sitting atop the standings with Rensselaer, who the Saints play next weekend for sole possession of first place. Meanwhile, Hobart falls to 7-3 (2-2) after being outshot 31-7.

"These league games are obviously very important. I'm really proud of the way the guys played and stuck to our game plans," said St. Lawrence head coach Bob Durocher. "When we didn't have the ball, I thought we worked extremely hard to get it back, which really kept them from getting their offense going."

The Saints controlled the tempo and possession throughout the game, but were held scoreless in the first half by Hobart goalie Mike Lucas. Lucas made five saves, including two on DeMello from inside the box to keep the Statesmen in the contest after 45:00 minutes of play.

DeMello would cash in 8:56 into the second half to put the home team on top 1-0. First-year student Ryan Grant sent a cross into the box and, though the first shot was stopped by Lucas, the rebound came back to DeMello who tapped it into the net to reach 100 collegiate points.

St. Lawrence continued to pour on offensive pressure and built the lead to 2-0 in the 65th minute. Sophomore Jeremiah Bunton chipped a pass off a throw in deep into Hobart territory to classmate Jamal Samaroo inside the 18. Samaroo crossed a ball that got through to DeMello, who sent a beautiful strike inside the right post for his 11th of the season.

The Saints would put the game away with 14:53 to play, as Bunton would add his third of the season off a corner. Senior Will Congdon sent a cross towards the far post that rookie Harry Copeland headed back to the middle of the box. Bunton was there to finish with a header of his own past Lucas to cap the game scoring.

Lucas closed with 13 saves in the game, while senior Nate Goss-Woliner stopped each of the three shots on goal he faced. St. Lawrence finished with an 8-1 advantage in corners.

The Saints will head to Troy, NY on Friday, October 12 to square off with the Rensselaer Engineers at 4:00pm with first place in the conference on the line.