Women's Soccer | 10/10/2019 9:00:00 AM

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- After earning a split on the road last weekend, the Robert Morris University women's soccer team returns home for a two-match stand against Northeast Conference foes at the North Athletic Complex.

ROBERT MORRIS (4-7-1, 2-2-0 NEC)
vs. SACRED HEART (5-5-2, 2-1-1 NEC)
Friday, Oct. 11 at 1 p.m.
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

vs. FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON (5-5-3, 4-0-0 NEC)
Sunday, Oct. 13 at 4 p.m.
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

LAST WEEK
The Colonials rebounded from a tight 2-1 loss at Wagner last Friday with a 4-2 victory at Long Island on Sunday. Sophomore transfer Devan Noll scored two goals in the win, striking against her former school to help RMU post its largest goal total in nearly two years.

Also on Sunday, freshman Sheridan Reid regained the RMU points lead with a goal and an assist, earning NEC Co-Rookie of the Week honors in the process. In Friday's game, sophomore Bailey Farabaugh's long-distance goal gave the Colonials a chance to rally from an early 2-0 hole. 

KNOW BOBBY MO
• On a team with eight newcomers, it's fitting that two freshmen lead the way in terms of scoring. First-year forwards Reid (four goals) and Kayla Veloso-Lima (three) are two of four Colonials with multiple goals, while Veloso-Lima is the only one with multiple assists (two). The last time RMU had this many goals contributed by freshmen was in 2008 (eight).

• Reid and Veloso-Lima have opportunities to write their names in the RMU record books. The last time a Colonials freshman led the team in scoring was in 2008, when Norwin's Jess Sharik pulled it off. Also, the most goals scored by a Colonials freshman is 10, by Kathleen Caggiano in 2007, while Ayana Davis '12 and Katie Dugan '02 had nine and eight goals, respectively, in their first seasons on campus. 

• A native of Mechanicsburg, Pa., junior keeper Sydney Bruckner has been a workhorse in goal to this point, seeing action in all 12 matches, starting 10 of those. Her seventh RMU shutout, recorded Sept. 22 vs. Mount St. Mary's, pushed her to a tie for fourth on the program's all-time list, while her .840 save percentage is on pace to be the fifth-best single-season mark in team history.

• With two goals netted so far, senior attacking midfielder Kristina Kelley continues her climb up the program's all-time scoring chart. The senior from Halifax, Pa., has 13 career strikes in an RMU uniform, moving her one past Kelly Haggard '96 and Hilary Nellis '06 for the eighth-most in team history. Two more goals this season would put Kelley in RMU's all-time top five.

• While results were difficult to come by in non-conference action, it's instructive to remember last season, when the Colonials went 2-8 out of league before going 4-4 in NEC play and just barely missing out on the conference tournament. All told, RMU has gone a collective 7-25-1 out of league over the past three seasons, but has rallied for a 14-14-0 mark against NEC foes during that span.

• The Colonials return two All-NEC selections in Kelley (Second Team) and Chartiers Valley's own Allie Ball (All-Rookie). Not coincidentally, they're the top two Colonials in minutes played. WPIAL products Brittany O'Connell (Norwin) and Courtney Hurey (West Allegheny) also have started all 12 games, too. Seniors Megan DiNatale (pictured above) and Nicolette Casarcia (Plum) are close behind in terms of playing time.

• Of the Colonials' 13 underclassmen, seven have played in all 12 games so far: Angela Van Damia, Colleen Sullivan, Chelsea Kingston, Hurey and Ball. Three more have seen action in at least 10 matches: Sofie Lien Fagereng, Devan Noll and Bailey Farabaugh. 

• The Colonials added one of their own to the coaching staff this season, with Alexa Sarsfield '15 joining the team as an assistant. A former All-NEC defender, the native of Springdale, Pa., started 62 of her 71 total matches for RMU from 2010-13. She coached at the youth level with QuickSkillz Soccer from 2016-19.

HISTORY LESSON
Robert Morris has had a back-and-forth feud going with Sacred Heart for over a decade, featuring five wins, seven losses and one draw. The Colonials have never won two in a row against the Pioneers, but their 2-1 win last year in Fairfield, Conn., gives them a chance to make history. O'Connell scored her first career goal against Sacred Heart last year, setting up RMU's first-ever road win in the series.

Fairleigh Dickinson has a 9-5-1 edge in the all-time series with the Colonials, although the last time the Knights paid a visit to Moon Township, RMU prevailed 2-1 in extra time. Then-sophomore Kelley was the offensive star in that one, scoring the first goal herself before assisting on the sudden-death winner by Jane Schleicher '19. The Colonials are 4-2-1 against FDU at home.

OPPOSITION RESEARCH
Sacred Heart was unbeaten in its first three NEC contests, going 2-0-1, before falling 3-0 to Fairleigh Dickinson last Sunday. Freshman attacker Michelle Clarkin is the runaway points leader for Matt Micros' Pioneers, posting five goals and two assists. A first-year player also has stood out in goal, as keeper Elyssa Kipperman has started all 12 games, posting a .785 save percentage and two clean sheets.

Fairleigh Dickinson is one of the strongest opponents RMU will face, as the Knights try to make it six straight trips to the NEC tournament under head coach Eric Teepe. FDU has outscored its four NEC opponents by a combined margin of 8-1. Twelve Knights have at least a goal and eight have at least an assist, while Swedish freshman Maja Skansberg and German sophomore Lea Egner lead with three goals each.

HONOR ROLL
The following Colonials have been honored by the NEC this season ...
Sheridan Reid - Rookie of the Week (Aug. 26, Oct. 8), Prime Performer (Sept. 4)
Sydney Bruckner - Prime Performer (Aug. 26, Sept. 17, Sept. 25)
Kayla Veloso-Lima - Prime Performer (Sept. 17)
Devan Noll - Prime Performer (Oct. 8)

THE KOWALSKI FILE
A 2000 inductee into the RMU Athletic Hall of Fame, coach John Kowalski returns for his 18th season. The native of Miłków, Poland, led the RMU men's soccer team to four NEC regular-season championships and two NEC Tournament titles before taking over the women in 2002. In 2015, he led the women's team to its lone NEC tourney appearance to date, for which he was named league Coach of the Year.

Kowalski has just about done it all in his coaching career, from managing the U.S. Men's National Team in 1991 and our nation's international futsal (five-a-side) squads for 10 years, to heading up the Tampa Bay Mutiny of Major League Soccer and the second-tier Pittsburgh Riverhounds upon their 1999 debut. Kowalski was inducted into the Riverhounds' inaugural hall of fame class this summer, his fifth such induction.

MARCH WITH THE COLONIALS
In addition to reports and videos on RMUColonials.com, check out Twitter and Instagram for news and updates throughout the season.

NEXT WEEK
The Colonials start a series of three straight games on the road when they travel to Loretto, Pa., to face Keystone State rival Saint Francis. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 18.