Men's Lacrosse | 1/28/2018 8:00:00 PM
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The
Robert Morris men's lacrosse team put its skills on display for an exhibition crowd at Joe Walton Stadium Sunday afternoon, and it found plenty of positives, particularly on its back end and in between the pipes, to build upon in advance of its 2018 regular season, which begins at No. 7 Rutgers next Saturday.
In three staggered, running-clock contests, the Colonials prevailed three times, over NCAA Division II Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) opponents Wheeling Jesuit, Seton Hill and Mercyhurst. Against the Griffins and Lakers, RMU shut out last year's G-MAC finalists by a combined 9-0 in the first half.
All-Northeast Conference goalkeeper
Alex Heger, who was credited with 11 saves in the middle match versus Seton Hill, showed he hasn't missed a beat since sharing the Division I lead in saves per game (12.75) as a sophomore. Reserve netminder
Chris Reynolds, now a sophomore himself, made 16 stops altogether on WJU and Mercyhurst.
Meanwhile, his Robert Morris teammates seemed only to get stronger as the day wore on, combining to cause 13 turnovers over the last two games. The Colonials ranked second in the NEC with 9.31 caused turnovers per game in 2017.
On Sunday, they were also a perfect 5-for-5 in man-down situations.
"Our defense certainly had a good day overall, and, really, hat's off to the goalies," head coach
Andrew McMinn said. "We gave those guys a shout-out in the locker room after the game[-s]. Alex and Chris just had great days. Chris is still getting into outside competition for the first time, and for him to get two scrimmages like that, I thought he did a tremendous job."
Although newcomer
Nolan Hector, the team's third keeper, did not compete Sunday due to injury, McMinn remains pleased with both his and Reynolds' development this preseason.
"Chris and Nolan have done a great job continuing to push Alex on a day-to-day basis," he said. "With both those guys, we're just as confident that, if they need to get to go at any point, they're capable of putting the team in position to win."
Offensively,
Zach Lynch,
Corson Kealey and erstwhile NEC Rookie of the Year
Ryan Smith all stood out, each notching a hat trick.
Jimmy Perkins added six points, including four assists against SHU.
Faceoff specialist
Trey Arnold had a particularly good outing against the Griffs, going 9-for-17 from the X and scooping up four ground balls. Not to be outdone, freshman FOGO
Kyle Vince went 12-for-22 against the Cardinals, with seven ground balls.
And so, in summary, the Colonials went home feeling primed to hit the road for an intriguing litmus test against a top-ten squad from the Big Ten.
That season-opening meeting with the Scarlet Knights is scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. start Feb. 3.
"We put the guys through a lot of adversity playing three scrimmages in one day. We knew we would be battling through, just from an effort standpoint, because of the long day, but I feel, from a personnel standpoint, we did a great job," McMinn said. "A lot of guys got opportunities, and that's what we had mentioned after the game--that they really capitalized, from an individual standpoint, on the day."
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