Moon Township, Pa. – After being held scoreless in the third, the High Point Panthers used a 3-0 run in the fourth to close in on the Colonials, but the Robert Morris University men's lacrosse team outlasted High Point to secure a 9-7 win in High Point, N.C.
 
The win marks the fourth consecutive victory for Robert Morris (4-1, 0-0 NEC).
 
Freshman attack Ryan Smith tabbed his second consecutive hat trick to lead all 10 Colonials point scorers with three goals. Redshirt sophomore Matt Schmidt recorded his third consecutive multi-point effort, and fourth in five games, with a goal and an assist. Sophomore long stick midfield Jack Toomb collected five ground balls, and sophomore defense Mike Eveland caused a career-high five turnovers. Sophomore goalkeeper Alex Heger made 13 saves and held RMU's opponent to single-digit scoring for the fourth straight game.

 
High Point halted a Colonials run heading into the fourth and opened the final quarter with a goal to cut the Robert Morris lead to four, 8-4. Torok-Orban capitalized on a man-up opportunity to increase the RMU advantage to five. The Panthers went on a 3-0 run and made it a two-goal game with 4:20 left. Heger made some critical saves down the stretch, and following a timeout with 1:25 remaining, Robert Morris made a crucial stop and forced a High Point turnover to gain possession. Bohl managed to hold onto the ball under the threat of double-coverage with time winding down, and Robert Morris secured its fourth straight win.
 
Smith opened the scoring in the second half with his third consecutive goal for RMU, and Schmidt extended the Colonials scoring streak to three with his ninth of the year to give Robert Morris its largest lead of the day, 8-3, at 13:33.
 
High Point started the second quarter on the man advantage, but the Colonials defense held them off the board during the man-up opportunity. Smith scored his fifth of the season to make it 5-1 early in the frame, but High Point responded with a goal to cut the Colonials lead to three and end RMU's four-goal scoring streak. High Point scored again with just over three minutes left in the second to reach within two, but Smith scored on a man-up opportunity with 1:39 left to go back up by three, 6-3, heading into intermission.
 
Robert Morris worked to wear down the High Point defense in the opening frame and maintained possession in their offensive zone through much of the first quarter. The Colonials outshot the Panthers, 14-6, through the first, and goals from redshirt junior Justin Mayfield, senior Alexander Bohl, sophomore Shane Majewski and junior Carter Yepsen propelled RMU to an early, 4-1 lead. With eight seconds left in the period, Yepsen added to the Colonials advantage and made it 4-1 heading into the second.

Robert Morris led High Point in ground balls, 31-26, and went 2-4 on man-up chances.

RMU goes straight back to work on Tuesday, March 7 at Georgetown in a 3 p.m. non-conference clash.
 
 
First Things First
This is the first win against High Point for Robert Morris in program history. The Colonials are now 1-2 against the High Point Panthers.
 
Back-to-Back
After scoring his first career hat trick last weekend versus Detroit Mercy, freshman Ryan Smith answered with another three-goal game in tonight's road win over the Panthers.
 
Remember When
The last time a Robert Morris team won four consecutive non-conference games was in 2011 when the Colonials won five straight outside of Northeast Conference action.
 
Hold 'Em
Robert Morris held its opponent to single-digit scoring for the fourth straight game. Sophomore goalkeeper Alex Heger leads the Northeast Conference in save percentage and goals against average. He ranks 14^th in the nation in save percentage.
 
Mr. Reliable
Junior attack Adrian Torok-Orban is currently riding a 20-game point streak, dating back to April 25, 2015.
 
Schedule Notes
For the first time since 2012, the Colonials will play a game under the lights of Joe Walton Stadium, when they host Canisius on Tues., April 18 at 7 p.m. in a non-conference, evening clash. Men's and women's lacrosse will also compete in a doubleheader on Sat., March 25. The men's team will open the day with a 1 p.m. faceoff with Mount St. Mary's, and the women's squad will host crosstown rival Duquesne at 4 p.m.
 
Colonials in the Pros
There are currently eleven former Colonials from the Robert Morris men's lacrosse program competing in the National Lacrosse League (NLL).
 
 
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