Moon Township, Pa. - After taking down UMBC, 10-8, on the road this past Saturday to move to 2-0 on the season, the Robert Morris University men's lacrosse team earned votes in two national polls earlier this week.
RMU was listed in the also receiving votes section in both the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Coaches' Poll and the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll in the first regular-season release of each poll.
The Colonials opened the season Feb. 11 by knocking off Bellarmine, a squad who is also receiving votes nationally, on the road before taking down the Retrievers. Despite playing a pair of close contests to start the season, Robert Morris has not trailed in either game, which marks the first time the Colonials have completed the first two games of a season without trailing at any point in a contest.
Robert Morris has been relatively well-balanced offensively thus far as its 19 goals have come from 11 distinct Colonials. Junior Jake Hayes (Calgary, Alberta / Central Memorial) leads the team in both goals (four) and points (seven) and was recently named as the Northeast Conference (NEC) Offensive Player of the Week.
RMU has also received a pair of solid efforts in between the pipes in its first two contests. Redshirt junior Charles Ruppert (Long Island, N.Y. / Massapequa) and freshman Matt Bukovac (Ashburn, Va. / Briar Woods) each posted a double-digit save total as each has claimed one starting assignment thus far.
The Colonials will certainly have plenty of chances to test themselves in the upcoming weeks. After playing Air Force this Saturday, RMU will play three consecutive games against nationally-ranked teams, including Denver, a 2011 Final Four participant. Robert Morris is also scheduled to play Bucknell later this season, and the Bison are also currently receiving votes nationally. Three of these remaining four games for RMU against teams mentioned in the national rankings will come on the road.
Robert Morris will travel west this weekend for the DU Face-Off Classic where it will meet Air Force and Denver Saturday, Feb. 25, and Sunday, Feb. 26, respectively. The Colonials will be playing west of the Mississippi River for the first time in program history.
