Men's Lacrosse | 3/12/2018 11:52:00 AM

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The Robert Morris men's lacrosse team continues to command national attention from peers and press alike on its three-game winning streak, which now includes two wins over nationally ranked opponents.

The Colonials (4-2) have been ranked No. 17 in the Maverik Media Men's Division I Poll published by Inside Lacrosse Magazine Monday, their highest-ever ranking in a major poll. Previously, RMU had been tabbed as high as No. 20 in the Inside Lacrosse poll Apr. 30, 2012, and as high as No. 19 in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Coaches' Poll Mar. 15, 2010.

Robert Morris, meanwhile, received votes in the latest USILA poll, also released Monday. This is its second time in the past three weeks receiving votes in the coaches' poll, which also happened Feb. 26 following its 12-9 takedown of then-No. 16/15 Penn State in University Park, Pennsylvania two days earlier.

RMU cracked the media rankings as a result of a dominant 12-2 victory at No. 19/18 Marquette Saturday afternoon that tied a school record for fewest goals allowed in a single game to a current D-I program. The record had been established in the Colonials' 10-2 decision over Wagner Feb. 24, 2008.

It was the first win over an active Big East member in team history, as well as their fifth all-time over a ranked opponent. Four of those wins have been earned since reigning Northeast Conference Coach of the Year Andrew McMinn took over as head coach in 2012.

This marks the second straight year and third in the McMinn era that Robert Morris has, minimally, received votes in one or both polls at some point.

 

	Maverik Media Poll — Week 5 (March 12, 2018)
		Votes (No. 1)	Last
1	Albany (5 - 0)	600 (30)	1
2	Maryland (5 - 1)	561	2
3	Duke (6 - 1)	547	3
4	Notre Dame (3 - 1)	495	11
5	Denver (4 - 2)	456	4
6	Villanova (6 - 1)	426	5
7	Yale (4 - 1)	387	10
8	Loyola (4 - 2)	383	7
9	Virginia (6 - 1)	357	8
10	Johns Hopkins (3 - 2)	306	17
11	Georgetown (6 - 0)	278	16
12	Vermont (7 - 0)	275	15
13	Syracuse (3 - 2)	242	6
14	North Carolina (6 - 2)	169	9
15	Army (4 - 2)	145	12
16	Lehigh (5 - 1)	138	23
17	Robert Morris (4 - 2)	90	22
18	Rutgers (4 - 2)	87	13
19	Ohio State (5 - 2)	71	14
20	Towson (3 - 3)	65	24
RV:	Cornell, Princeton, Hofstra, Penn, Penn State, Brown, Michigan, Harvard, Bucknell

 

USILA Poll	3/12/2018
Rank	Team	Points	Record	Last Poll
1	Albany	460 (23)	5-0	1
2	Maryland	427	5-1	2
3	Duke	421	6-1	3
4	Notre Dame	362	3-1	10
5	Villanova	353	6-1	4
6	Denver	318	4-2	5
7	Virginia	309	6-1	9
8	Yale	302	4-1	11
9	Loyola MD	290	4-2	6
10	Johns Hopkins	251	3-2	T-15
11	Georgetown	207	6-0	18
12	Syracuse	180	3-2	7
13	North Carolina	172	6-2	8
14	Vermont	170	7-0	T-15
15	Army	120	4-2	12
16	Rutgers	95	4-2	14
17	Lehigh	79	5-1	N/R
18	Ohio State	69	5-2	13
T-19	Penn	52	3-3	17
T-19	Hofstra	52	2-2	N/R
Other Votes	Robert Morris, Princeton, Cornell, Towson, Harvard, St. John's, Brown, Bucknell

"We don't really see it as breaking barriers, we just see it as living up to our potential," senior attackman Adrian Torok-Orban said after Saturday's game. "I think we know how capable of being a successful team we are. We have a lot of strong pieces to the puzzle, and a great group of guys who are finally starting to put that puzzle together. We don't really [worry about] our opponent, we've just tried to put our best product on the field, and we've done that. Hopefully we keep doing it going forward."

Torok-Orban, who scored the opening goal against the Golden Eagles, leads all active Colonials with 73 in his career, including five this season.

RMU is averaging 19.33 points per game to lead the NEC, which is also tied for 14th in the NCAA, and it is up to 11th nationally with a .500 conversion rate on extra-man situations. Torok-Orban has two of the team's eight man-up goals in 2018, and Matt Schmidt is up to a sixth-place tie in D-I after getting his fourth in Milwaukee.

Schmidt, named NEC Player of the Week prior to the match, leads the team with 13 goals overall. Fellow redshirt junior attackman and local product Jimmy Perkins (Pittsburgh, Pa.//Quaker Valley) is pacing the conference with 2.33 assists per game after registering his 14th and team-leading 24th point at Marquette.

Defensively, the Colonials rank eighth in the NCAA with an .813 success rate in man-down situations, and they are holding steady at sixth in the nation with their .918 clearing percentage. Junior goalkeeper and three-time NEC Prime Performer Alex Heger is coming off a 12-save effort that produced a career single-game best .857 save percentage.

Senior defenseman Zachary Bryant ranks 11th in Division I with 13 caused turnovers, and RMU, as a team, ranks among the nation's top five teams in that category.

No. 17 Robert Morris hosts Sacred Heart for its NEC opener Saturday. The opening faceoff from Joe Walton Stadium is scheduled for 1:00 p.m., and admission is free.

Fans will have the opportunity to win a gift card from Moe's Southwest Grill during halftime.

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