A trio of veterans tallied goals for the St. Lawrence men's soccer team as the Saints went on to defeat Hobart 3-1 in their Liberty League opener in front of more than 1,000 fans on Family Weekend in Canton Saturday afternoon.

Harry Copeland and Rob Brandell scored first-half goals for the Saints (7-2-0, 1-0-0 LL), while senior captain Mark Provost added an insurance tally midway through the second half. Hobart sophomore JP White spoiled Sean Houston's shutout bid in the 90th minute with the lone goal of the day for the Statesmen (5-3-0, 0-1-0 LL).

Copeland put the Saints in front early in the third minute when he capitalized on a failed clear by the Hobart defense and beat keeper Mike Lucas with a shot into the lower left corner. Classmate Ryan Grant started the play for the Saints with a cross from the far right corner into the box that landed at the feet of a Statesmen defender. Copeland, who was pushed up from his usual spot at center back for a set piece, was waiting on the doorstep to collect the ball and give his team a 1-0 lead.

Less than six minutes later, Brandell extended the lead to 2-0 when he redirected a pass from Austin Roney inside left post for his team-leading fourth goal of the year.

Brandell had a chance to extend the lead to 3-0 midway through the first half when he and Christian Barral-Arteta ran the field in transition and moved into the box two-on-two against Hobart defenders, but his shot from the corner of the box was just wide and the lead remained 2-0 headed into halftime.

Provost connected for the third St. Lawrence goal in the 72nd minute with a shot into the top right corner off a feed from Grant, who crossed the ball from along end line to the left of the goal. First-year Chandler Short also assisted on the play.

With the exception of White's goal which came with 30 seconds remaining in regulation on a header that snuck under the crossbar and inside the far right post, the Saints defensive unit was dominant throughout the day, limiting Hobart to just two shots in the first half. Houston made just two stops en route to his fourth win of the season.

Hobart keeper Mike Lucas, who entered today's game with a .51 goals-against average, made four stops before being replaced by Tyler Serafine in the 80th minute. Serafine finished with two saves for the Statesmen.