Box Score Moon Township, Pa. - Junior Jake Hayes (Calgary, Alberta / Central Memorial), the nation's leader in shooting percentage entering the day, had little trouble finding the back of the net Tuesday evening as he put home four goals and added two assists to help lead the Robert Morris University men's lacrosse team to a 15-11 victory over Canisius at Joe Walton Stadium.
The contest, which was the final non-conference affair for the Colonials of the 2012 season, marked the first-ever RMU lacrosse night game under the lights at Joe Walton Stadium.
Hayes' six-point performance moved him into the top 10 in career points (56) and into a tie for sixth in career scores (44) at RMU. His eighth-career hat trick was also his sixth multi-goal game thus far this season. Hayes collected his second outing this season with at least a half dozen points while notching his 12th career multi-goal effort.
RMU's victory came down, in part, to its ability to snatch up ground balls as RMU claimed a season-high 46 for the game, tying for the fifth-highest single-game total in program history. The mark was the second-best figure ever notched in a home game and also helped the Colonials post their best ground ball margin of the season (46-32).
Senior midfielder Mike Grosz (St. Louis, Mo. / Parkway West) led the charge as he posted a game-high 11 GB, surpassing 200 for his career in the process. Grosz, who ranked seventh nationally in ground balls per game entering tonight, now has tallied six double-digit ground ball games in his career with three of them coming in the team's last five outings. He also registered his second-career assist in the second quarter and the second point of his season.
A quartet of Colonials aided Hayes offensively by each collecting three points on the strength of two goals and a helper.
Senior Casey Abbott (San Jose, Calif. / Bellarmine Prep.) claimed the eighth multi-point game of his career and the third multi-goal game of his season. Abbott, who now has at least three games with a trio of points this season, extended the longest in-season point streak of his career to five games.
Senior Teddy Finnegan (West Islip, N.Y. / West Islip) recorded his first game at RMU with at least three points while collecting the third multi-point game of his career.
Senior Kiel Matisz (Stoney Creek, Ontario / Saltfleet) extended his point streak to 15 games while notching the 35th multi-point game of his career. Matisz, who now has 21 career multi-goal games, has at least three points in 12 of his last 14 games.
Redshirt junior Dave Morton's (Orangeville, Ontario / Hill School) eighth multi-point game increased his point streak to a career-best eight games. Morton, who hit 20 career goals Tuesday, now has four multi-goal games in his career and five outings with at least three points.
Canisius opened up a slim 3-2 edge fewer than eight minutes into the first quarter, but Robert Morris soon took control, thanks to a significant contribution from Hayes.
RMU would go on a 5-0 run over the second half of the first quarter and the beginning of the second, holding the Golden Griffins scoreless for over 16 minutes, to take command with a 7-3 lead. Hayes was a factor on four of the five scores as he posted two goals and a pair of assists during the run.
Canisius scored the final two goals of the first half to cut the deficit to just two, 8-6, but Robert Morris came out strong in the third quarter as it scored twice in the first five minutes to push its advantage back to four.
The two Colonial scores to open the second half were actually part of a larger 6-2 RMU run that carried into the fourth quarter and gave the hosts a 14-8 lead.
The Golden Griffins made the final score closer by scoring three times in the final three minutes when the game was all but sealed.
Robert Morris has now won each of the last three meetings against Canisius in the longest-played non-conference series in school history. The Colonials have scored at least 14 goals in each of those three meetings.
RMU had advantages in shots, shots on goal, ground balls, faceoffs and clear percentage Tuesday night. It also collected a double-digit save total for the ninth-consecutive game, which tied the program record for the longest such in-season stretch in school history.
Redshirt junior Mike Meagher (Chesterfield, Mo. / St. Louis University) posted two caused turnovers Tuesday to move into sole possession of third place in that category in all-time RMU history as he is now just five shy of breaking the career record.
Freshman Ryan Madigan (Ashburn, Va. / Broad Run) netted his first collegiate point Tuesday with a fourth-quarter assist.
RMU will not have much time off before it commences with Northeast Conference (NEC) action as the Colonials open league play this Saturday, March 31. Robert Morris will meet Wagner with the opening faceoff set for 1:00 p.m.
