STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- In claiming its fourth consecutive victory, the No. 17/19
Robert Morris men's lacrosse team showed Saturday afternoon how determined it is to claim team-to-beat status in the Northeast Conference as it gears up for its third straight NEC Tournament.
The Colonials (10-3, 4-1) blanked Wagner for the first 18:35 of Senior Day action and held the Seahawks (4-9, 0-5) to two scores for nearly three full quarters in their 15-5 flattening at Hameline Field. This marks the second ten-win campaign in RMU history and the first since head coach
Andrew McMinn's first turn at the helm in 2012.
Redshirt junior attackmanÂ
Jimmy Perkins helped make it possible with a historic, and balanced, eight-point outburst, one shy of matching the school record, that came on four goals and four assists. Robert Morris also got a pair of second-half snipes from
Adrian Torok-Orban as part of a 6-0 romp through much of the third quarter that put the game out of reach.
Six different players put up multiple points for the Colonials, including Perkins, who became just the fifth in team history with two games of eight or more points in his career (last: Feb. 9 at Bellarmine). They also got a combined six goals and ten points from their subs in keeping pace with conference leader St. Joseph's (9-3, 5-0) ahead of their season-ending showdown at Joe Walton Stadium next Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
Although junior goalkeeper and NEC Defensive Player of the Week
Alex Heger wasn't as busy as his third-year counterpart, Matt Sefcik, who played valiantly with 17 saves, he did make seven stops in over 57 minutes to earn his tenth victory of the season, a new RMU single-year mark. Heger remains second all-time with 22 career wins in the cage for Robert Morris, two from equaling the record.
He was well supported by a defense that forced 20 Wagner turnovers, counting the seven amid that third-period breakthrough, and killed all three Colonial penalties. In addition, RMU was a near-flawless 29-for-30 on clearing attempts while forcing eight miscues on 27 tries by the Seahawks, and it dominated the ground ball battle by a 41-21 margin.
"That's something we've tried to take pride in," junior long stick midfielder
Jack Toomb said. "Coach McMinn, every week, has a lot of ground ball drills and plays that help us to just keep getting better. Coach always talks about having a tenacious attitude toward the ground ball game, and you've got to give the faceoff guys credit today, too, for producing some good loose balls for us to pick up. That's a big factor in any game, so it's definitely something we're going to be working on again."
One of three players to finish with a team-leading five GB's, Toomb has climbed to fifth on the Robert Morris career chart with 149 ground balls all-time.
He is no stranger to the occasional draw, but it was freshman FOGOÂ
Kyle Vince who stood out among the supporting cast by going a season-best 7-for-10 from the X, causing a turnover, grabbing three ground balls of his own and scoring his first collegiate goal with 3:42 left in regulation.
Among the other unsung heroes was
Daniel Smith, who had a caused turnover, matched his career high with five GB's and chipped in two assists, while sophomore attackmanÂ
Ryan Smith quietly contributed three apples.
Alex Funk also got his first RMU goal to round out the scoring, and
David Sturgis got on the board for the first time this season to open the fourth quarter.
Furthermore, when both defenses controlled the game early, it was midfielder
Shane Majewski who broke the scoreless deadlock with 9:50 to go in the first, his fourth tally of the year. Perkins set him up with a long pass from behind the net that Majewski buried from beyond the circle.
A little over five minutes later, Perkins gave the Colonials a 2-0 lead with one of his patented wraparound maneuvers. However, with Sefcik and his Wagner teammates holding their own throughout a flurry of chances, Robert Morris muddled to just a 4-1 halftime advantage, needing a key stop on a man-down, a team-leading 29th goal from
Matt Schmidt and another strike by Perkins for breathing room.
Showing the same patience they had throughout the contest, the Colonials set the tone for the final 30 minutes from the moment they controlled the opening second-half faceoff. Perkins calmly helped the offense milk 1:32 off the clock while waiting for just the right moment to connect with
Tyson Gibson, who beat Sefcik from the low left wing for a 5-1 lead.
"I think we do a good job sticking to our game style no matter who we're playing," Toomb said. "We definitely work together on both sides of the ball. Offensively, we value possessions, and defensively, no matter what the situation is, if it's a tight game or a blowout, we work together and pride ourselves on our communication."
When Wagner answered off the ensuing faceoff, Gibson wasted little time trading places with Perkins. The Pittsburgh native and former Quaker Valley star then completed his fourth hat trick of the year and second in his last three outings on a low line drive from the left elbow with 11:25 remaining in the period to begin the deluge that deflated the Seahawks.
After
Brad McCulley tacked on his third of the season and Torok-Orban muscled in his 17th and 18th from close range 62 seconds apart, Perkins aided a
Carter Yepsen goal from 12 yards out before reaching the 20-goal plateau with 2:22 left in the third. He spun away from a defender and threw one past Sefcik while diving across the lip of the goal mouth for an 11-2 RMU cushion.
"It's definitely a blast to watch those guys work so well together," Toomb said of Perkins and company. "Every single week, they work their tails off, and after [watching] film, they come in with a great gameplan. They find a weakness in every single team."
Co-captain
Justin Mayfield also found the net for the Colonials, with under four minutes left in regulation, after accomplished senior Andrew Streilein got a couple back for Wagner.
Having already secured a place in the postseason, No. 17/19 Robert Morris now has left itself with a chance to do something it hasn't done in six years: stay home for it.
That all comes down to an exciting final weekend of regular-season NEC play before the conference tournament May 3-5.
"Like Coach McMinn always says, we're going to treat it like any other game," Toomb said. "Ten wins is really cool, something nice to be a part of, but we're of the mindset that we're not done yet. We want to keep the train rolling."
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