Men's Lacrosse | 3/23/2018 12:23:00 PM
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The No. 20/14
Robert Morris men's lacrosse team seeks its fifth win in a row when it visits Northeast Conference rival Mount St. Mary's. The opening faceoff from Waldron Family Stadium in Emmitsburg, Maryland is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. EDT Saturday.
#20/14 Robert Morris at Mount St. Mary's - Mar. 24
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The Colonials (5-2, 1-0) prolonged their winning streak in their NEC opener at Joe Walton Stadium last Saturday, a come-from-behind, 12-8 St. Patrick's Day victory over Sacred Heart. They erased a two-goal halftime deficit with a 9-3 outburst in the second half.
With that, RMU has won three straight conference openers and five of seven under head coach
Andrew McMinn. McMinn enters this weekend 21-14 all-time versus the NEC since taking over in 2012.
SCOUTING MOUNT ST. MARY'S
The Mountaineers (3-5, 0-1) remain the only Northeast Conference team that is perfect at home but winless on the road after falling to Bryant, 20-11, on Mar. 17 in their NEC opener. Their last home match resulted in a 12-9 triumph over Mercer Mar. 10.
Junior attackman Chris DiPretoro, who had a hat trick the last time he faced Robert Morris, registered one against the Bulldogs, and sophomore attackman Brenden McCarthy chipped in a pair of goals in defeat. McCarthy has been an effective playmaker this year, leading the Mount and ranking third in the NEC with 1.75 assists per game.
Freshman FOGO Sam Stephan ranks second in the conference with his .528 winning percentage at the X and is ninth in D-I with 7.25 ground balls per game.
AGAINST THE MOUNTAINEERS
Robert Morris is 6-4 all-time against the Mount and has taken six of the past seven meetings. RMU's last loss and most recent win in the series both went to overtime: a 16-15 decision May 4, 2012, and an 11-10 result Mar. 25, 2017, also at Joe Walton Stadium, punctuated by the last of four goals by
Ryan Smith with 3:13 left in the first sudden-victory period.
Shane Majewski also contributed a pair of goals, as well as a pair of ground balls, that afternoon, and
Jack Toomb led the defense with five ground balls and three caused turnovers.
Adrian Torok-Orban got one of his five career goals against the Mountaineers on his last visit to Waldron Family Stadium Mar. 26, 2016, an 11-9 contest that also saw
Alex Heger make 12 saves in three full quarters of relief to earn the victory. Torok-Orban buried three against the Mount in a 10-7 win Apr. 8, 2015, adding two GB's.
MUSKET SHOTS
Poll Party
The Colonials are No. 14 in the latest Maverik Media Men's Division I Poll published by Inside Lacrosse Magazine, their highest ranking ever in a major national poll. In addition, RMU entered the USILA Coaches' Poll for the first time this year, at No. 20, one shy of its record.
Somebody Save Me
Alex Heger helped the Colonials tie a team record for fewest goals allowed to a current D-I team at Marquette Mar. 10 (last: 10-2 at Wagner Feb. 24, 2008). Additionally, his .857 save percentage against the Golden Eagles was a personal single-game best. Heger has moved into the NCAA's top ten in both save percentage (.578; 9th) and goals-against average (8.21; 10th).
Power Up
RMU has scored ten of its 12 man-up goals in its last three victories. On Mar. 3 the Colonials rung up four in a game for the first time since Feb. 21, 2015 at Detroit, and last Saturday, they scored four twice in the same year for the first time since 2013. NEC Prime Performer
Matt Schmidt got his fifth, tying for the NEC lead and moving into a fourth-place tie nationally. The Colonials are the NEC's top team in man-ups and are tied for fifth in D-I at .571 on extra-man opportunities.
Winding Down
The Colonials have found special teams success at the other end of the field as well, killing 12 of their last 14 penalties, thanks in part to NEC Prime Performer
Will Ewing. They are tied for sixth in the NCAA at .800 in man-down situations.
First Things First
Four Colonials scored their first goals of the season at No. 19/18 Marquette Mar. 10:
Justin Mayfield,
Austin Popovich,
Dylan Sidoriak and
Brad McCulley, whose first-quarter strike with 8:15 to play in the period, his first NCAA goal, proved to be the game-winner. McCulley is going for his first career goal-scoring streak after getting one 8:13 into last Saturday's game.
Squad Goals
RMU is averaging 12.14 goals per game to lead the NEC. Its 19.43 points-per-game clip is also first, and a chief reason is local
Jimmy Perkins leading the NEC with 2.43 assists per game.
Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away Now
Robert Morris is causing 9.43 turnovers per game, tied for fourth-most in Division I.
Zac Christianson, who scored his first career goal versus the Mount last year, needs just two more to become only the fifth player in program history with 50 caused turnovers all-time.
Zachary Bryant, the team leader in CT's (13), became the fourth versus High Point Mar. 3.
All Clear
RMU sits atop the NEC and ranks fifth in the nation with its .921 clearing percentage. The Colonials were 20-for-21 on clears against Mount St. Mary's Mar. 25, 2017, going perfect over the last three quarters--as they did versus SHU last Saturday, ending the match 15-for-16.
Take Me To Your Leader
Justin Mayfield and
Marshall Gibson captain RMU again this year, while
Sean Doyle and
Leighton Gibson round out its 2018 leadership group. Mayfield and Doyle combined for seven ground balls versus the Mount in last year's meeting, with Mayfield adding an early assist.
Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?
RMU has had a set of brothers on its roster every year since 2010. Besides the Gibsons, the Yepsens (Carter and Conner) and Sturgises (Will and David) make up the RMU family who are literal family. Meanwhile, Eric Wales '16 is the older brother of
Mitchell Wales, and
Corson Kealey is the younger brother of 2014 All-NEC Rookie Team standout JonPatrik "JP" Kealey.
Carter Yepsen has a goal in four straight games, including the game-winner at Penn State Feb. 24, and
Corson Kealey is on a six-game goal streak, including the GW versus SHU Mar. 17.
From Bobby Mo To Pro
Twelve Colonials have competed in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) since 2016. The elder Kealey became the latest, and also the 20th RMU player drafted into the indoor circuit since 2005, scoring his first pro goal for the New England Black Wolves Dec. 23, 2017. RMU/NLL alum
Luke Laszkiewicz rejoined the Rochester Knighthawks on their practice squad Mar. 8.
A Call To The Hall
On Feb. 2 Kiel Matisz, another of the ex-Colonials currently playing professionally, became the first RMU men's lacrosse player inducted into the Robert Morris Athletics Hall of Fame. "Moose," a former All-American and NEC Player of the Year now with the NLL champion Georgia Swarm, recorded 166 career points (94 G, 72 A), third all-time behind Laszkiewicz.
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