Men's Lacrosse | 3/19/2018 4:37:00 PM

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The Robert Morris men's lacrosse team continues to meet and, from a national perspective, exceed, expectations during its ongoing four-game winning streak, as evidenced by the latest NCAA Men's Division I rankings.

The Colonials (5-2, 1-0), coming off a come-from-behind, 12-8 victory over Sacred Heart at Joe Walton Stadium in their Northeast Conference opener Saturday, come in at No. 14 in the new Maverik Media Poll published by Inside Lacrosse Magazine Monday. This establishes a new program record for their highest ranking ever in a major national poll, improving upon their unprecedented No. 17 stead in last week's media poll.

In addition, RMU entered the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Coaches' Poll for the first time this season Monday, at No. 20, after receiving votes in two of the previous three.

Historically, Robert Morris has made it as high as No. 19 in the coaches' poll, doing so the week of Mar. 15, 2010.

 

	Maverik Media Poll — Week 6 (March 19)
		Votes (1st)	Last
1	Albany (6 - 0)	600 (30)	1
2	Maryland (6 - 1)	564	2
3	Duke (8 - 1)	543	3
4	Notre Dame (4 - 1)	508	4
5	Denver (5 - 2)	463	5
6	Yale (5 - 1)	419	7
6	Loyola (5 - 2)	419	8
8	Villanova (6 - 2)	397	6
9	Johns Hopkins (5 - 2)	356	10
10	Virginia (6 - 2)	309	9
11	Rutgers (6 - 2)	298	18
12	Lehigh (6 - 2)	212	16
13	Army (5 - 2)	204	15
14	Robert Morris (5 - 2)	158	17
15	Syracuse (3 - 3)	143	13
16	Penn (4 - 3)	129	24
16	Vermont (7 - 1)	129	12
18	Georgetown (6 - 1)	113	11
19	Hofstra (4 - 2)	81	23
20	North Carolina (6 - 3)	65
RV:	Cornell, Towson, Ohio State, Penn State, Harvard, Michigan, Bucknell, Colgate

 

USILA Poll	3/19/2018
Rank	Team	Points	Record	Last Poll
1	Albany	420 (21)	6-0	1
2	Maryland	396	6-1	2
3	Duke	361	8-1	3
4	Notre Dame	356	4-1	4
5	Denver	324	5-2	6
6	Loyola MD	294	5-2	9
7	Villanova	287	6-2	5
8	Yale	285	5-1	8
9	Johns Hopkins	240	5-2	10
10	Virginia	217	6-2	7
11	Rutgers	193	6-2	16
12	Army	151	5-2	15
13	Syracuse	134	3-3	12
14	Lehigh	120	6-2	17
15	Penn	115	4-3	T-19
16	Georgetown	89	6-1	11
17	Vermont	78	7-1	14
18	Hofstra	75	4-2	T-19
19	North Carolina	74	6-3	13
20	Robert Morris	62	5-2	N/R
Other Votes	Ohio State, Penn State, Harvard, Bucknell, St. John's, Princeton, Cornell, Drexel, Towson

Offensively, the Colonials are led by Matt Schmidt, who extended his team lead in goals to 17 with four against the Pioneers over the weekend, including three in the second half. The redshirt junior attackman was named an NEC Prime Performer after his sixth consecutive multi-goal match, and he also registered his fifth man-up goal of 2018 to move into a fifth-place tie nationally.

Local product Jimmy Perkins (Pittsburgh, Pa.//Quaker Valley) also collected four points versus the Pios, including three assists, and he is averaging a conference-best 2.43 assists per game.

Robert Morris leads the NEC with its 19.43 team points-per-game clip, and it is tied for fifth in Division I with its .571 conversion rate on extra man opportunities.

Defensively, goalkeeper Alex Heger continues to backstop RMU brilliantly, having moved into the NCAA top ten with his 8.21 goals-against average, and he is up to ninth in the country with his .578 save percentage after making 11 stops on Sacred Heart.

Defenseman and fellow junior Will Ewing is also contributing to the success of that group. Ewing was named an NEC Prime Performer after helping the Colonials outscore SHU 9-3 in the second half and limiting its top goal-scorer, Max Tuttle, to three points (two goals, one assist) while recording two ground balls and two of six caused turnovers.

RMU leads the conference and is tied for fourth in D-I with an average of 9.43 caused turnovers per game. It ranks fifth nationally with its .921 clearing percentage and tied for sixth with its .800 success rate in man-down situations.

No. 20/14 Robert Morris goes for five wins in a row when it travels to NEC rival Mount St. Mary's. The Colonials defeated the Mountaineers in overtime, 11-10, in their last meeting, Mar. 25, 2017.

The opening faceoff from Waldron Family Stadium in Emmitsburg, Maryland is set for 12:00 p.m. Saturday.

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