Moon Township, Pa. - In its final home game of the 2008 season the Robert Morris University football team had its winning streak in Northeast Conference games snapped at three with a 41-7 loss to Albany Saturday afternoon at Joe Walton Stadium.

The win clinches at least a share of the NEC title for the Great Danes, who improve to 7-3 overall and 6-0 in league play, while the Colonials slip to 4-6 overall and 3-3 in NEC action.      

David McCarty opened the game's scoring with a 26-yard touchdown run to give Albany an early 7-0 advantage, and a one-yard touchdown plunge by quarterback Vinny Esposito increased the lead for the Great Danes to 14-0 with 2:39 remaining in the first quarter. The second touchdown of the afternoon was set up the Albany special teams, as Emerson Kinsey blocked a punt by sophomore Nick Schirtzinger (Hurricane, W.Va. / Hurricane). Schirtzinger came up with the loose ball on the blocked punt but was tackled at the RMU one-yard line. 

Robert Morris pulled to within 14-7 when senior fullback Karey Murray (New Brighton, Pa. / New Brighton) scored from a yard out to cap a 15-play, 80-yard drive. The key play during the drive came on 3rd-and-15, when senior quarterback Erik Cwalinski (Jacobsburg, Ohio / Shadyside) hit senior split end Sherrod Evers (Philadelphia, Pa. / Mastbaum Area) for a 34-yard completion down to the three-yard line of the Great Danes. Three plays later Murray punched it in to get the Colonials on the board.

Late in the first half Robert Morris got the ball back with 1:23 remaining before the break and began to drive, with Cwalinski connecting with freshman tight end Shadrae King (McKeesport, Pa. / McKeesport) for a 12-yard completion and hitting Evers with a 10-yard pass. However, Dave Casale came up with the first of his two interceptions of the day, returning it 20 yards to the Albany 49-yard line with less than 30 seconds to go before halftime.

Esposito completed four straight passes for the Great Danes, including a 16-yard touchdown strike to Daniel Bocanegra with just two seconds to play before halftime to help increase Albany's lead to 21-7 at the break.

The Great Danes increased their lead to 24-7 on the first drive of the second half thanks to a 27-yard field goal from Herb Glass, and Casale helped seal the victory by intercepting Cwalinski for the second time on the afternoon and returning it 23 yards for a touchdown and a 31-7 Albany lead. Cwalinski's pass was tipped by L.B. McCloskey, and Casale came down with the ball and raced to the end zone for the score. Justin Gannon added a 40-yard run with 39 seconds to play in the third quarter, and Glass hit a 25-yard field goal with 6:51 to play to close out the scoring.

Albany racked up 486 yards of total offense on the afternoon, the highest by an RMU opponent in 2008. McCarty finished with 129 yards rushing on 25 carries, while Esposito completed 16 of his 24 passing attempts for 201 yards and a touchdown. Cwalinski finished 12-for-27 passing for 156 yards for Robert Morris, throwing three interceptions and also fumbling once. He was sacked five times on the afternoon.

Sophomore halfback Myles Russ (Boca Raton, Fla. / West Boca) was held to 66 yards rushing on 19 carries, while Evers finished with six catches for 89 yards to pace the RMU receiving corps.

A trio of Colonials recorded double-digit tackles, as sophomore linebacker Alex DiMichele (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Sto-Rox) paced Robert Morris with a game-high 15 stops. Junior linebacker Ian Milanak (North Apollo, Pa. / Apollo Ridge) added 12 tackles, a career high, while junior defensive lineman Andy Walton (New Waterford, Ohio / Crestview) contributed a career-high 11 tackles, including a sack, and a blocked field goal. Thanks to his 15 tackles, DiMichele increased his season total to 116, establishing a new Robert Morris single-season record. 

Robert Morris concludes its 2008 season Saturday, Nov. 15, by traveling east on Route 22 for a 1:00 p.m. tilt at in-state rival Saint Francis.