Moon Township, Pa. – Thanks to goals in the 81st and 87th minutes, the Robert Morris University men's soccer team secured a victory in its non-conference finale, defeating Howard, 2-1, this afternoon from a sunny North Athletic Complex.
After being undone by a number of last-minute comebacks this season, Robert Morris (1-7-2, 0-0-0 NEC) was on the right side of one this time around as it converted on two of its three shots on goal to pick up the win.
The first half saw just three shot attempts as neither team could build anything off their attacking bands. The best chance of the opening 45 came in the 18th minute when Keane McIvor struck the far right post after Bayley Winkel found him with a low cross into the box.
Howard (1-10-0, 0-0-0 Sun Belt) converted at second half's first opportunity as Marcus Johnson buried a Victor Guirma rebound to give the visitors a 1-0 advantage.
The Colonials responded with some urgency, creating a trio of chance between the 58th and 67th minutes. A fourth shot attempt on a Zac Sherman header went wide in the 72nd minute, but it provided some foreshadowing for the hosts' late-match heroics.
After Winter Fondi stepped up to make a save on Lloyd Pierre in the 79th minute, RMU pushed the ball up the right flank and earned itself a corner kick. McIvor sent a high cross into the box, connecting with the head of Sherman who was falling towards the far left post. The junior aimed his redirection across the goal line to catch the goalkeeper off-balance, succeeding with this attempt for his second goal of the season.
Six minutes later, RMU had itself a winner thanks to the senior trio of McIvor, Corey McCurdy, and Winkel. McIvor connected on another cross from the right flank, allowing McCurdy to play it into the box with one touch. Winkel raced in and laid out fully extended, placing the diving header past Bison goalkeeper Andrew Tamburro for his seventh goal of the year.
For McIvor, the pair of assists were his team-leading sixth and seventh of the season. The senior also generated a game-high four shots this afternoon, matching the total production of Howard.
Fondi made two saves in the victory.
Robert Morris opens up Northeast Conference (NEC) play on Friday, Oct. 6 at 2:00 p.m. when it travels to Central Connecticut.
