Moon Township, Pa. – It was a Senior Day to remember for the Robert Morris University women's soccer team as the Colonials routed Mount St. Mary's, 4-0, this afternoon in Northeast Conference (NEC) action from the North Athletic Complex.
The four-goal margin of victory was Robert Morris' (5-11-0, 3-4-0 NEC) largest since Oct. 19, 2014, when it defeated Mount St. Mary's (5-10-1, 2-4-0 NEC) by a 5-1 score on the road. The Colonials tallied three goals in the first half and added a fourth on the counter with 1:21 remaining.
RMU, who held an 18-13 edge in shots over Mount St. Mary's, opened up the scoring in the 18th minute. Erin Ritzer's corner kick deflected off a Mountaineer defender to Maleha Kureishy, who one-timed a shot just inside the left post for her first goal of the season.
The Colonials' second goal came in the 26th minute, thanks to the duo of Kristina Kelley and Jane Schleicher. Kureishy, who picked up a second assist on the tally, played the ball up to Schleicher, who then found Kelley inside the 18 with an over-the-top pass. The sophomore midfielder had just enough space to chip the charging goalkeeper, tucking it into the netting for her eighth goal of the year.
The Mountaineers' best chance of the game came in the 34th minute when Jenna West tried to chip Sydney Bruckner from outside the box, but the freshman managed to climb the ladder and punch the ball over the bar before it reached the upper right 90.
A third goal came with 1:04 left to spare in the first half, again courtesy of the Schleicher/Kelley connection. The junior forward received a Kelley pass outside the 18 and carried the ball past two defenders before slotting one past Maggie Barron for her seventh goal of the season.
The hosts' three-goal first half was their first since Sept. 13, 2015 in a 4-1 win against Canisius.
A desperate Mountaineers team began to throw everything at the RMU defense in the second half, hoping to kick start a comeback. Bruckner stopped a pair of West shots in the 47th and 48th minutes, and denied Jaylyn Chandler twice inside the penalty area in the 80th minute.
From there it was smooth sailing for the Colonials, but they added a cherry on top in the 89th minute. RMU broke down the Mount St. Mary's defense on the counter, creating an opportunity as Kasia Bak gathered the ball outside the 18. She slipped it to Taylor Burkley in the box, who caught a defender off-balance and created a passing lane for Ritzer. Ritzer rushed in ahead of another Mountaineer at the right time, one-timing it inside the far left post for her second goal of the season.
All four Colonials who scored (Kristina Kelley, Maleha Kureishy, Erin Ritzer, Jane Schleicher) compiled identical three-point outputs this afternoon.
Bruckner stopped seven shots to register her second career shutout.
Kelley now has 22 points (8g, 6a) on the season, which is tied for the fifth-most in program single-season history. The dynamic duo of her and Schleicher (7g, 3a) have combined for 39 points on the year, one shy of tying 1998's pairing of Misha Gebhart and Jody Schuchert for the most points by two RMU players in a season.
Prior to today's contest, the Colonials recognized the careers of Kasia Bak, Maddison Duncan, Kayla Kelley, Maleha Kureishy, Greer Monahan, and Erin Ritzer.
Robert Morris closes its season on Sunday, Oct. 29 at 2:00 p.m. when it travels to Wagner.
