Women's Lacrosse 2/16/2016 9:30:00 AM

Colonials Open Season vs. Crosstown Rival Duquesne

Moon Township, Pa. - Robert Morris University women's lacrosse opens its twelfth season with its' eleventh all-time meeting with crosstown rival Duquesne University, Wednesday February 17 at 4:00pm on the Dukes' Rooney Field.

RMU is coming off back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in the 11-year history of the program, going 10-7 last season after an 11-6 mark in 2014. The Colonials have been at .500 or above for the past three seasons, starting with an 8-8 result in 2013.

Head Coach Katy Phillips brings nine freshman aboard the 2016 team and returns six seniors including two-time All-NEC midfielder Jessica Karwacki.

Karwacki, a senior midfielder, recorded 169 draw controls (averaging 10.6 per game) in 2015 to lead the nation for the second straight season.In three seasons, Karwacki has won a remarkable 537 draws, shattering an NCAA record.

Four of the top six scorers from 2015 will pace the Colonials offense this season. Corey Karwacki iearned all-conference second team honors last season and is the Colonials leading returning scorer (37 goals, 22 assists). Karwacki's 59 points last season are the third-most ever scored by a Colonial.

Now a sophomore, Dana Davis earned all-NEC rookie honors last season after scoring 22 goals and 11 assists. Davis also led RMU in caused turnovers with 22. Brittany Byerly (Wexford, Pa./Pine-Richland H.S) notched 53 points last season and ranks sixth all-time at RMU.Pittsburgh native and senior Emily Jamison (North Hills H.S.) posted 31 goals in her junior campaign.

Robert Morris loses 32.6 percent of its goal-scoring, 39.6 percent of its assists and 34.8 percent of total points from last season's roster, mostly in the form of graduates Kristin Yoviene and Emma Baukhages.

In 2015, RMU's offense scored an average of 13.79 goals per game on 28.6 shots per game. The Colonials were ranked 1st in goals, assists, points, shots and draw controls in NEC play in the 2015 season. Three Colonials players under Prince's instruction finished in the top 10 in the conference in goals and points, four of the top ten in assists.

Freshman Sarah Arnold will backstop Robert Morris this season. Returning on defense are juniors Megan Wolfgang, Megan Gold, Megan Yarberry and Amanda Harrington.

Robert Morris was picked to finish fourth in the Northeastern Conference preseason coaches' poll, while Duquesne was chosen third in the Atlantic 10.

LAST SEASON'S MEETING
The Colonials posted a 10-7 overall record in 2015, including a loss to the Dukes, who Robert Morris has an 0-10 record against in the all-time series. However that loss was the closest RMU has struck to victory, falling to Duquesne 17-16 in sudden-death overtime.

In that contest, Yoviene tied a single-game record with ten points including one of her six assists coming on Jamison's game-tying goal with just 15 seconds remaining.

Being that close to victory has served as a motivating factor for the Colonials seniors who want to defeat Duquesne before their time at Robert Morris is up.

SCOUTING THE DUKES
The Dukes finished with a 9-9 overall record last year and are led by top returning scorer and 2015 Atlantic 10 First Team All-Conference attack Kaelin Shaw. Duquesne also returns senior goalkeeper Jenna Bishop and midfielder Meredith Micho.Bishop was a Second Team All-Conference honoree in 2015 and will be joined by A-10 All-Rookie Team choices sophomores Kenna Gubler and Jill Vacanti. The Dukes return five of its top six scorers from last season.

PENNSYLVANIA POWER
There are sixteen players from Pennsylvania on the rosters of the two squads; ten for Duquesne and six from Robert Morris.

WINNING WAYS
The Class of 2015 seniors departed with 36 wins to their credit, the winningest class in program history. The Class of 2016 has been a part of 29 victories thus far, needing 7 wins this season to tie that record.

SOCIAL MEDIA
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