Moon Township, Pa. - Robert Morris University women's lacrosse will face their first road test of the season in the team's shortest distance away from home. The Colonials will play crosstown rival Duquesne in the Dukes season opener at Rooney Field in Pittsburgh.
 
#GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Robert Morris (0-1) at Duquesne (0-0)                            
Saturday, Feb. 17  //  1:00 p.m.
Rooney Field  //  Pittsburgh, Pa.
WATCH LIVE  //  LIVE STATS
 
RIVALS CLASH!
The Colonials have a history with crosstown rival Duquesne that spans nearly the entire history of the program. After a tough stretch of eleven consecutive losses to the Dukes, the Colonials rolled over Duquesne last season at Joe Walton Stadium for the first win over their rivals in program history. RMU is 0-6 at Rooney Field, hoping to strike that zero off the record books for the second year in a row.
 
In the 2017 meeting, Robert Morris won 17-6, using a streak of 13 consecutive goals to rout the Dukes. Four RMU players recorded hat tricks, including a four-goal performance by then-junior Dana Davis, who also collected five ground balls, won three draws and caused a turnover. Goalkeeper Katelyn Miller was a brick wall in goal, making nine saves in her first outing in the city game.
 
LAST TIME OUT
RMU opened the 2018 season with a long, hard-fought 5-4 loss in the second overtime against Bucknell last Saturday afternoon at Joe Walton Stadium. The Colonials got off to a hot start with the first two goals of the game. Sophomores Meghan Crouse and Mackenzie Gandy put the Colonials ahead 2-0 in the opening 3:31 of the game. After the Bison tied the game at 2-2, freshman Madison Griffin scored the go-ahead to put the Colonials ahead 3-2 at halftime.
 
Bucknell rallied for two goals, the first coming with 13:47 left in the second half, the second, to take its first lead of the game with 2:07 to play in regulation. This wrapped up a stretch in which the RMU defense, including goalkeeper Katelyn Miller, didn't allow a goal for a stretch of 41 minutes and 30 seconds.
 
With the clock winding down after the Bison tally, senior and three-time all-Northeast Conference selection Dana Davis found the equalizer with 59 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. RMU and Bucknell battled through one overtime and into a second, when Mary Margaret Kenney scored with 1:45 remaining in the second extra frame, to end the game.
 
RMU outshot the Bison 25-12, 15-7 in shots on goal, but Bucknell goalkeeper Jamie DeWitt made 11 saves, including going five-for-five on Colonials' free position shots in the overtime periods. The Colonials defense stymied Bucknell throughout the game, causing 15 turnovers. RMU collected 25 ground balls and won the draw control battle 9-5.
 
PUTTING UP THE DUKES
Duquesne is captained by seniors Jill Vacanti and Sarah Dawley. Vacanti paced Duquesne with 45 points and 38 goals as a junior in 2017. Vacanti had at least three goals in six of 17 games last season. She also led the Dukes with 55 points as a sophomore in 2016, scoring 47 goals to go with eight assists. Vacanti enters her senior campaign with 134 career points including 105 goals and 29 assists. Dawley appeared in 15 games for Duquesne as a junior in 2017, recording 13 draw controls, 12 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers in addition to scoring a goal for the Dukes. She has appeared in 46 games during her career with eight goals, 28 draw controls, 23 ground balls and 16 caused turnovers in three seasons. 

DANGEROUS DEFENSE
Robert Morris had the top defense in the NEC and one of the NCAA's best, leading the conference in ground balls and caused turnovers, as well as being the nation's No. 2 team in caused turnovers and 4th in ground balls. RMU's scoring defense held opponents to an average of 11.00 goals per game, ranked second in the NEC.
 
The theme held strong in the 2018 opener for RMU, with the defense causing 15 turnovers, collecting 25 ground balls and allowing only five goals in more than 70 minutes of play, including a stretch of more than 40 minutes where the Colonials held Bucknell off the board entirely.

DYNAMIC DANA
Senior Dana Davis is the definition of an all-around midfielder. Davis brings a balanced and determined style to the field. An all-NEC first team honoree last season, Davis scored 34 goals and six assists, despite missing two games to injury. The senior from Garnet Valley, Pa. collected 58 ground balls, grabbed 39 draw controls and caused 32 turnovers. Davis has earned league honors in each of her three seasons, an all-Rookie team member as a freshman and was named to the second team following her sophomore campaign.

Davis is among the NCAA's active career leaders in four categories: Ground Balls (4th, 154), Ground Balls Per Game (4th, 3.08 per game), Caused Turnovers (5th, 78), Caused Turnovers Per Game (14th, 1.56).

THE MACK ATTACK
Sophomore attacker Mackenzie Gandy was one of the league's top freshman last year, scoring 56 points on 29 goals and 27 assists on her way to NEC all-Rookie team honors. Gandy impressed with her accuracy, recording a .754 shots on goal percentage. Gandy was second overall in scoring for RMU and 8th in the NEC. Gandy scored a goal in the Colonials season opener.

NOT SO SOPH
Colonials sophomore defenders Madison Burke and Kelly Colegrove each caused a trio of turnovers in the season opener for RMU. Colegrove also scooped up a pair of ground balls, while Burke picked up one. Fellow sophomore Shea McArdle nabbed a ground ball and caused turnover as well.
 
QUEEN OF THE CAGE
Sophomore Katelyn Miller returns in goal to defend again for RMU after a successful frosh campaign. Miller posted an 11-6-0 record with a .442 save percentage (4th in the NEC) and averaged 7.83 saves per game (ranked 5th in the NEC).
 
CROUSE'S HOUSE
Sophomore Meghan Crouse is a force when it comes to possession. In 2017, Crouse was 5th in the NEC in draw controls (2.83 per game), and 16th in the NEC in caused turnovers, averaging 1.89 per game. Crouse is ranked fifth in career average for caused turnovers per game among active NCAA players.
 
SQUAD GOALS
The Colonials led the Northeast Conference in a variety of offensive categories last season: Scoring offense (13.28 goals per game), points per game (18.83), shots and shots on goal per game (30.83; 23.17).
 
412 CREW
RMU sports two players from the Pittsburgh area, senior Taylor Lewand (Oakland Catholic) and junior Shannon Lynch (Shaler). The Dukes have one, junior defender Taylor Hopkins (Moon).
 
SO FRESH
The Colonials welcome seven freshman to the program in 2018, including five from the state of Maryland, with one from Pennsylvania and one from Texas.
 
#1 - Goalkeeper, Mia Tornetta
#9 - Midfielder, Kelley Flynn
#11 - Midfielder, Madison Griffin
#25 - Defense, Katie Martin
#28 - Midfielder, Hannah Miller
#34 - Attack, Rachel Ward
#35 - Defense, Caroline Downham

WINNING WAYS
The Colonials have posted five consecutive winning seasons, with the last four resulting in trips to the Northeast Conference postseason tournament. Robert Morris holds a 49-36 record over the last five years. RMU went 11-7 overall last season and 5-2 in NEC play.

Last Five Seasons
2017: 11-7
2016: 9-8
2015: 10-7
2014: 10-6
2013: 8-8

NEW LEADERSHIP
The Colonials are under the direction of head coach Katrina Silva in her first year at the helm at Robert Morris, named to the role in December of 2017, after serving seven seasons as an assistant coach. Silva begins her 15th season as a head coach and has an overall record of 126-115, including stints at Roanoke (3 seasons, 1997-1999), Colgate (7 seasons, 2000-2006) and Virginia Tech (4 seasons, 2007-2011).
 
PRESEASON POLL
The Robert Morris University women's lacrosse team was tabbed for a third place finish in the Northeast Conference (NEC) women's lacrosse coaches preseason poll. Bryant was selected as the unanimous favorite to repeat as league champion, while Wagner was chosen second. Robert Morris is followed by Mount St. Mary's, Sacred Heart was picked fifth, Central Connecticut followed in sixth, Saint Francis U in seventh, and LIU Brooklyn in eighth to round out the poll.


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