MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The
Robert Morris men's lacrosse team continued to flaunt the defensive form that has made it a factor in this year's Northeast Conference race, but it could not find enough gas in its tank offensively to keep Bryant from discontinuing its five-game winning streak in a 10-7 loss at Joe Walton Stadium Friday night.
"A big point of emphasis for us going in was just winning possessions. That starts with faceoffs, and it leads into ground balls, and we just wanted to make sure we were efficient offensively. Overall, they dominated us in the ground ball war,"Â said head coach
Andrew McMinn. "Outside of that, we had double-digit turnovers, and we just didn't execute the game plan the way we would have liked to."
Junior goalkeeper and NEC Defensive Player of the Week
Alex Heger, who entered the weekend one of three keepers in the conference among the national top-four in save percentage, made 12 stops to keep the Colonials (6-3, 2-1) in the hunt. Furthermore, RMU was a perfect 16-for-16 on clears, and it limited Marc O'Rourke, the two-time NEC Player/Rookie of the Week, to a single goal: an empty-netter in the final seconds.
However, the Bulldogs (5-5, 3-0) played their characteristic, possession-oriented style effectively in breaking a 5-5 halftime deadlock. They committed only 13 turnovers to 17 by Robert Morris, and their 38-20 advantage in ground balls also came back to haunt the hosts.
Still, the defeat was not without bright spots up front for RMU. Senior
Adrian Torok-Orban notched his second straight hat trick, the 11th of his NCAA career, and, in completing his HT, became just the ninth player in program history to score 80 goals all-time.
Fellow attackman and redshirt junior
Matt Schmidt added two more goals to his team-leading total, which now stands at 22, and has now registered multiple goals in eight consecutive contests. Robert Morris got man-up goals from him and Torok-Orban to finish 2-for-3 on extra-man opportunities, and it has now scored 14 man-up goals over its past five matches.
With his eighth EMO goal of the season, Schmidt tied the RMU single-year record established by
Jake Hayes in 2011. Entering Friday, he was tied for second in Division I in that category.
Meanwhile, rookie
Corson Kealey is living up to his surname, having extended his own goal-scoring streak to eight games in the second quarter.
Once again, the Colonials showed they could be patient with an opponent that tried to shorten the game. After Schmidt beat Kevin Beimfohr from the left elbow with just 1:27 gone by in the first, RMU nursed that lead for nearly nine minutes before Torok-Orban doubled it by squeezing through a double team and sneaking in a shot from the close right wing.
Local product
Jimmy Perkins (Pittsburgh//Quaker Valley) kept his sensational redshirt junior campaign going in that second stanza after Bryant tied the game. Perkins, who shared the team lead in ground balls with four, got one from the ensuing faceoff, was denied on a breakaway, but, in one motion, threw the rebound over Beimfohr's shoulder for a 3-2 Robert Morris lead on his 12th goal of the year.
Kealey, while falling down, gave the Colonials a 4-3 edge with 5:21 to play in the half from the top of the circle, becoming the fifth RMU runner to hit double-digit goals in 2018 in the process. Jake Buonaiuto then went to the box for illegal procedure, and Torok-Orban wasted no time burying his 11th of the season from roughly the same spot.
The Bulldogs took their first lead of the night early in the third quarter before the Toronto native finished off his hatty on a fast-break play, aided by the team-leading 19th assist from Perkins, to make it 6-6 with 10:27 remaining.
In the fourth quarter, with the Colonials up a man again, Schmidt converted from his office in the close left wing, hooking up with
Tyson Gibson for the second time on a Robert Morris goal, but RMU was held off the board for the final 9:11.
"Something we always pride ourselves on is getting better going forward no matter what takes place," McMinn added. "We try to evaluate objectively, regardless of the result, and, again, right off the bat, I know a big point of emphasis will be ground balls. But we're certainly going to make sure we find a way to improve."
Result aside, senior defenseman
Zachary Bryant was a presence on the back end yet again, pacing RMU with four of those GB's and three of its six caused turnovers. Earlier this season, Bryant became just the fourth player in team history to surpass 50 CT's as a collegian.
No. 13/14 Robert Morris travels to Hobart for further NEC action Apr. 7. The opening faceoff from Boswell Field in Geneva, New York is set for 12:00 p.m. EDT.
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