Men's Lacrosse | 5/2/2018 11:46:00 PM

PHILADELPHIA -- Senior defenseman Zachary Bryant recently said the Robert Morris men's lacrosse team talks a lot about the 2012 squad that won the program's first regular-season title and featured several individual award winners, not to mention several future pros. On Thursday the 2018 edition mirrored another of that team's accomplishments.

Bryant was named the Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year at the annual NEC awards banquet on the campus of Saint Joseph's University, leading a collection of nine Colonials who were chosen for various all-conference teams. That is the second-most in program history, one shy of matching the record established six years ago, and the four First Team All-NEC selections set a new RMU mark.

The 6'5", 210-pound native of Oshawa, Ontario is a two-time First Team honoree, as are junior goalkeeper Alex Heger and junior midfielder Tyson Gibson. Fellow senior D-man Zac Christianson received that distinction for the first time.

Robert Morris saw a number of key offensive players make the All-NEC Second Team, including redshirt junior attackmen Matt Schmidt and Jimmy Perkins and sophomore attackman Ryan Smith. Junior long stick midfielder Jack Toomb, along with Schmidt, joins that unit for the second season in a row.

Meanwhile, freshman attackman Corson Kealey represents the Colonials on this year's All-NEC Rookie Team.

Coming off a career-high 34 caused turnovers in 2018, Bryant finished the regular season third in Division I with an average of 2.43 per game. His 74 CT's all-time put him second in program history behind Sean Meagher '14, and he is the only RMU player to be named NEC Defensive Player of the Year besides Meagher, who won it as a junior. On Apr. 10 at Canisius he became the only Colonial besides Meagher to record five or more CT's in a game twice in one year, and he made the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) D-I Team of the Week for causing six in an upset of No. 16/15 Penn State Feb. 24.

Furthermore, Bryant became the first Major League Lacrosse (MLL) draftee since Meagher in 2015, and the fifth in team history, when the outdoor champion Ohio Machine selected him in the fifth round with the 45th overall pick in the MLL Collegiate Draft Apr. 18.

Four days later, Bryant formally received his 2017 team Most Valuable Player award, as well as the 2017-18 Robert Morris Male Presidential Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award, after registering a 3.90 GPA while majoring in Biology and minoring in Chemistry.

His 29 ground balls in 2018 were also a personal best, and his lone regular-season goal at No. 7/8 Rutgers Feb. 3 was, in fact, the first of the regular campaign for the Colonials.

"Obviously, it's very well deserved for Zach," head coach Andrew McMinn said. "He's put in the work throughout his entire career here, and I couldn't be more happy or proud of him. Now it's a matter of what he can do going forward."

Heger finished the regular season with a .598 save percentage that ranks fourth nationally. The 5'10", 175-pound Carmel (Indiana) High School product is one of three NEC keepers in the NCAA top ten for save percentage, and he is sixth in D-I with his 7.67 goals-against average. His 451 career stops are the most in program history, helping him establish a new RMU single-season record with ten victories in goal.

Before he made First Team All-NEC, Heger made the second round of additions to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List Apr. 12, making him the third NEC player to be considered. He is a three-time NEC Defensive Player of the Week, and on Mar. 10 at No. 19/18 Marquette he helped tie a team single-game mark for the fewest goals allowed to a modern D-I opponent in a 12-2 win.

Christianson was also an NEC Defensive Player of the Week, one of three different Colonials, including Heger, to take the award in a three-week span Apr. 9-23. The 6'1", 170-pound native of Victoria, British Columbia is tied for second in program history with 54 career starts, ranks fourth in program history with 62 career caused turnovers and currently sits eighth all-time with 120 ground balls.

He caused five turnovers in a 10-9 overtime win at Hobart Apr. 7, becoming the eighth different Robert Morris player with five or more in a single game. Christianson finished the regular season with 31 CT's and 21 ground balls, the second straight year he topped 30 and 20 in those respective categories.

Toomb, a two-time NEC Defensive Player of the Week who most recently received those laurels Apr. 23, got a season-high seven ground balls versus St. Joseph's Apr. 28. He tied Brendan Arthur '08 for fourth all-time at Robert Morris with 156, and his 17 caused turnovers this regular season equaled his career high.

The 6'2", 190-pound Cincinnati native collected 44 GB's during the regular campaign, and his three assists were a personal best. Toomb, Christianson and Bryant combined for 75 caused turnovers, putting them top-seven among Division I trios in that category.

Gibson enters the postseason second on the Colonials with 21 assists and third with 38 points. He is riding a five-game goal streak, as well as a team-high 18-game point streak dating back to Apr. 18, 2017. The 6'1", 190-pound Maple, Ontario native has multiple points in his last ten games and also posted career-highs in ground balls, with 19, and caused turnovers, with six.

Schmidt, for the second year in a row, led RMU in goals, with 30. He was named NEC Player of the Week Mar. 5, and his 12 assists, 42 points and 17 ground balls during the regular season were all career highs, and he enters the NEC Tournament with a goal in 13 consecutive games.

The 6'2", 185-pound Central Bucks East High School standout from Doylestown, Pa. was known for his special teams prowess in 2018. With eight of the team's 18 man-up goals, Schmidt ranked fourth in the nation and tied the Robert Morris single-season record established by Jake Hayes in 2011.

Perkins continues to author a great local success story with his first career All-NEC nod. A former champion in both lacrosse and hockey at Quaker Valley High School, the 5'8", 170-pound Pittsburgh native led the Colonials with 26 assists, which also tied a single-year mark, originally set by Kyle Buchanan in 2012. They were the second-most in the conference, and Perkins also led his team with 49 points.

He has recorded five hat tricks this season and three in his past four regular-season outings. He earned NEC Player of the Week honors Feb. 26 for his HT in RMU's aforementioned upset of Penn State, in which he rung up a game-high six points.

The fifth different Colonial with two career eight-point games and the fourth to have them both in the same season (Feb. 9 at Bellarmine, Apr. 21 at Wagner), Perkins is riding a 14-game point streak into the NEC Tournament.

In 2018 Smith picked up right where he left off with his 2017 NEC Rookie of the Year campaign. The 6'2", 210-pound Burlington, Ontario native finished fourth on the team with his 11 assists, a new personal high, and 24 points. Smith opened the season on a 13-game point streak and put up multiple points in seven contests.

Kealey also made a name for himself as a rookie by living up to his last name. The younger brother of 2014 All-NEC Rookie Team pick JonPatrik "JP" Kealey, Corson began his collegiate career with points in nine games in a row, concluding his first regular season with 14 goals in as many games. The 5'11", 180-pound Ottawa, Ontario native got his first RMU goal and hat trick, one of the fastest in recent team history, in a 2:06 span in a 15-7 triumph at Bellarmine Feb. 9.

"We're proud of [all] those guys, but I also said to the whole team before we came here that, while it's a night about individuals, we feel all our individuals are deserving," McMinn said. "We'll turn into the team mindset now, but definitely appreciate the recognition and those guys being honored tonight."

Robert Morris meets Bryant in the NEC Semifinal at SJU's Sweeney Field at 4:00 p.m. EDT Thursday on NEC Front Row.

Follow the Colonials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram