Women's Lacrosse 2/22/2018 5:00:00 PM

Robert Morris Hits the Road for Weekend Trek Through Virginia

Moon Township, Pa. - Robert Morris University women's lacrosse will face its first true road tests this weekend, leaving the confines of Allegheny County for a two-game voyage in Virginia. The Colonials face first-time opponent Radford on Friday, before a Sunday contest at Liberty.

#GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Robert Morris (1-1) at Radford (1-0)
Friday, Feb. 23 // 3:00 p.m.
Cupp Stadium // Radford, Va.
LIVE STATS

Robert Morris at Liberty (2-1)
Sunday, Feb. 25 // 12:00 p.m.
Liberty Lacrosse Field // Lynchburg, Va.
WATCH ON ESPN3 // LIVE STATS

VIRGINIA IS FOR LAXERS
The Colonials head to the state of Virginia for a pair of contests against Big South teams, the Radford University Highlanders and the Liberty University Flames. This is the first-ever meeting for Robert Morris and Radford, while the Colonials hold a 3-0 all-time record against Liberty. The match at Liberty on Sunday will be featured on ESPN3 at the link provided in the game day information above.

LAST TIME OUT
Robert Morris is coming off a 10-9 victory against crosstown rival Duquesne. Meghan Crouse completed her hat trick with just over four minutes remaining, scoring the game-winning goal, while the defense held on strong for the win.

DANGEROUS DEFENSE
Robert Morris had the top defense in the NEC and one of the NCAA's best in 2017, 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. The Colonials followed that up with a first half performance against Duquesne that stifled the Dukes, holding them to just two goals in the first half of the game, and off the board in the pivotal final six minutes as the RMU offense rallied ahead for the win.

BATTLIN' BURKE
Sophomore Madison Burke was named the Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Week in the first weekly awards handed down by the league. Burke helped lead a strong defensive attack for the Colonials in their opening two games of the season racking up six caused turnovers and picking up three ground balls.

STUNTIN' NOT SLUMPIN'
No Sophomore Slumps for the Colonials second-year players. Meghan Crouse is RMU's leading scorer through the first two games, with four goals in five shots on goal, adding six draw controls, three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Melanie Gandy has two goals and an assist, while Clio Kerr has two goals and four draw controls.

Colonials sophomore defenders are breaking out. 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. Burke recorded three caused turnovers for the second consecutive game, and collecting a pair of ground balls at Duquesne.

DYNAMIC DANA
Senior Dana Davis is the definition of an all-around midfielder, bringing 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 collected 58 ground balls, 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 a second-team sophomore. Davis is among the NCAA's active career leaders in four categories: Ground Balls (4th, 154), Ground Balls Per Game (4th, 3.08), Caused Turnovers (5th, 78), Caused Turnovers Per Game (14th, 1.56).

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. She is second on the Colonials in draw control wins through two games with six.

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). Assistant coaches Eileen Ghent (Rutgers '13) and Rachael McKinnon (Denver '16) are also new to the Colonials staff.

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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