Women's Lacrosse | 4/12/2018 8:00:00 PM

Moon Township, Pa.  -  Robert Morris University women's lacrosse is in pursuit of back-to-back wins, traveling to Loretto, Pa. for an afternoon Northeast Conference matchup with Saint Francis University on Friday.

GAME INFORMATION
Robert Morris (5-7, 1-1 NEC) at Saint Francis (4-8, 0-2 NEC)
Friday, April 13  // 3:00 p.m.
DeGol Field  //  Loretto, Pa.
LIVE VIDEO  //  LIVE STATS

LAST TIME OUT
Robert Morris opened Northeast Conference play with a 12-9 loss to Wagner last Friday before defeating Mount St. Mary's in convincing fashion, 14-4 on Sunday.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT  -  SAINT FRANCIS
Saint Francis ranks no. 2 in the conference in ground balls per game (23.92) just ahead of the Colonials (23.50). The Red Flash are third in caused turnovers with 10.67 per game, trailing RMU. The Red Flash average 21.75 shots on goal per game. The Colonials will face SFU's junior goalkeeper Ashley Stoessel. Stoessel has saved 106 of the 293 shots she's faced, for a .473 save percentage. Senior Jessica Mazzur leads the Red Flash in scoring (33), assists (14), and points (47) this season. The senior ranks fourth in program history with 46 career assists.

COLONIALS CAPSULE
RMU is led in scoring by sophomore Melanie Gandy, who's racked up 21 points on 10 goals and 11 assists. Senior Dana Davis is second on the team in overall scoring with 20 points, leading the Colonials in goals with 16, draw controls with 34, also collecting 19 ground balls and 14 caused turnovers. Sophomore Katelyn Miller has started all 12 games in goal, posting a 9.32 goals against average and .469 save percentage.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
Robert Morris leads the all-time series 12-1, with the lone Red Flash victory coming in the first meeting between the teams. The Colonials won 22-13 against SFU last season. Kerri Sayrafe led the Colonials with a single-game school record 8 goals.
 
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. 3 team in caused turnovers and 5th in ground balls. The theme has held strong in the 2018. RMU is currently ranked 6th in the NCAA in ground balls per game (23.50, 3rd in NEC), 9th in the NCAA in caused turnovers per game (11.50, 2nd in NEC), and scoring defense is 17th (9.33, 3rd in NEC).
 
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 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 ground balls (5th, 173), ground balls per game (13th, 2.80) and caused turnovers per game (29th, 1.50). Davis is now RMU's all-time ground balls leader with 173. The senior from Garnet Valley, Pa. is tied for the team lead in goal-scoring with 16 goals.
 
CADET KELLY
Kelly Colegrove has guarded the Colonials net-front with authority, leading the team with 29 caused turnovers, ranked second in the Northeast Conference and 10th in the NCAA, averaging 2.42 caused turnovers per game this season. Colegrove set a single-game school record with a career-high 7 caused turnovers in RMU's 14-4 rout of Mount St. Mary's on Sunday.
 
EUREKA! SHE HAS FOUND IT
Sophia Eureka has had the magic stick for the Colonials, tied for the team lead in goal-scoring with 16 on the season. The junior is tied for second in total points with 20, with senior Dana Davis.
 
QUEEN OF THE CAGE
Sophomore Katelyn Miller returns in goal for RMU after a successful frosh campaign. Miller posted an 11-6-0 record a season ago and is 5-7 through nine games in 2018. Miller looks solid as ever, posting a career-high and RMU single-game record 18 saves vs. Louisville on March 23. Miller's 9.32 goals against average this season ranks second best in the NEC and 13th in the NCAA. Miller's .469 save percentage is fifth in the NEC and 36th in the NCAA.
 
HELP ME HELP YOU
Sophomore Melanie Gandy leads the Colonials in points, scoring 21 points on the season, leading RMU with 11 assists.
 
TEN POINTS FOR GRIFFIN-DOR
Freshman Madison Griffin been a ball hawk for the Colonials, leading the team in ground balls with 34. Griffin is ranked 5th in the NEC and 40th in the NCAA, averaging 2.83 ground balls per game.
 
CAUSE A RUCKUS
Along with Colegrove ranking second in the NEC in caused turnovers per game (2.42), sophomore defender Madison Burke ranks seventh (1.50).
 
412 CREW
RMU sports two players from the Pittsburgh area, senior Taylor Lewand (Oakland Catholic) and junior Shannon Lynch (Shaler).
 
OLD LINE STATE OF MIND
The Colonials sport 15 players from the state of Maryland. Others represented include four from Pennsylvania, one from New York, Michigan, Texas and one from Oakville, Ontario, Canada.
 
SO FRESH
The Colonials welcome seven freshman to the program in 2018, all of whom have seen game action so far this season.
 
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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