Box Score Hamden, Conn. - The Robert Morris University men's lacrosse team scored four consecutive goals, spanning the third and fourth quarters, to cut a five-goal lead down to a single tally, but Quinnipiac was able to hang on and pulled out a 19-15 victory in Northeast Conference (NEC) action Saturday afternoon.
Senior captain Trevor Moore (Port Coquitlam, British Columbia / Western Reserve Academy) had a superb offensive day for the Colonials as he tied his career high and set the team season high with seven points on five goals and two assists. It marked the third occasion in his career that he scored seven points and the ninth time in program history that a Colonial hit at least that figure.
Sophomore defenseman Ben Lewis (Cazenovia, N.Y. / Cazenovia Central) was quite strong defensively for the Colonials as he tied a school record by causing five turnovers in a single game. Lewis added six ground balls in becoming the first RMU student-athlete to cause five turnovers on the road.
Senior Corbyn Tao-Brambleby (Coquitlam, British Columbia / Western Reserve Academy) also led the RMU offense by putting home two goals and three assists for a season-high five points, his sixth multi-point game of the season.
Robert Morris, which entered the week ranked second nationally in man-up conversion percentage, went an impressive 5-for-8 in such situations against the Bobcats. It marked the third time in school history that the Colonials recorded at least five man-up goals in a single game and the first-ever such occurrence away from home.
Quinnipiac took control from the start as the Bobcats scored a trio of goals within the first 5:01 of the first quarter and proceeded to soon push its lead to as many as six goals before the halftime whistle sounded.
With Quinnipiac ahead by five, 14-9, with the end of third quarter nearing, Robert Morris suddenly caught fire as four straight RMU tallies, capped by a goal by Moore with 8:52 left in regulation, brought the visitors within one.
The Bobcats would respond, though, and came back with three consecutive scores of their own to all but ice the contest in favor of the hosts.
Sophomore Jake Hayes (Calgary, Alberta / Central Memorial) collected his second-career hat trick on just four shots as he tied his career high with three points.
Redshirt senior captain Patrick Smith (Westminster, Md. / Westminster) and redshirt junior Kevin Brownell (Burlington, Ontario / Central) also added three points apiece as the former contributed two goals and a helper while the latter tied his career high with three assists.
Sophomore Tyler Digby (Westminster, British Columbia / New Westminster) and senior Rob Marasti (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Mt. Lebanon) each notched their first goal of the year with scores against the Bobcats.
Moore, who ranked sixth nationally entering the week in goals per game, registered his third career game with at least five scores. In the process, he also extended his streak of consecutive games with a point to exactly 40 and also pushed his stretch of consecutive games with multiple points to 11.
Robert Morris will next be in action this Wednesday, April 13, as it closes a three-game road trip with its final non-conference matchup of the season as RMU and Canisius meet at 4:00 p.m.
