Women's Soccer | 10/17/2019 8:00:00 AM

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The Robert Morris University women's soccer team will try to regain its positive momentum when it travels two hours east to face in-state Northeast Conference rival Saint Francis U. on Friday afternoon. The Colonials will play their next three matches on the road, starting with this pivotal matchup.

ROBERT MORRIS (4-8-2, 2-3-1 NEC)
at SAINT FRANCIS U. (4-8-1, 3-3-0 NEC)
Friday, Oct. 18 at 3 p.m.
Stokes Soccerplex, Loretto, Pa.
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

CATCHING UP
The Colonials allowed only one goal in a two-match stand at the North Athletic Complex last weekend, but couldn't grab a victory and fell below .500 in NEC play. However, RMU is still just three points out of the fourth and final postseason spot with four matches left to play.

In a 1-0 loss last Friday to Sacred Heart, RMU outshot the Pioneers 10-6, but couldn't generate a goal for the fourth time this season. On Sunday, the Colonials battled Fairleigh Dickinson toe-to-toe for 110 minutes, but settled for a scoreless draw when Brittany O'Connell's extra-time free kick hit the crossbar. Junior keeper Sydney Bruckner didn't have to make a save Sunday, but still recorded her third shutout of the season.

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, pictured above) 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., Bruckner has been a workhorse in goal to this point, seeing action in all 14 matches and starting 12 of those. Her eighth RMU shutout, recorded Oct. 13 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson, pushed her into solo fourth on the program's all-time list, while her .833 save percentage is on pace to be the fifth-best single-season mark in team history.

• With two goals netted this season, senior 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 it has a 14-15-1 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 14 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 14 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
The Colonials have won just two of their past 13 matchups with Saint Francis U., but both of those victories have been earned over the past four years. Last year was one of those successful missions, as RMU prevailed 2-0 at the North Athletic Complex on the strength of two first-half tallies and three Bruckner saves. Kingston scored the second of those goals, off an assist from classmate Hurey.

Going way back, the Colonials earned their first-ever Division I victory against the Red Flash back in 1995. RMU had gone winless over its first three seasons and entered that match with a combined record of 0-51, but it edged SFU 2-1 in Moon Township.

OPPOSITION RESEARCH
Saint Francis U. is also coming off a challenging home weekend against Sacred Heart and Fairleigh Dickinson, dropping both games by a goal apiece. First-year head coach Ellie Davis' team has gotten eight goals from senior forward Alyssa McGhee, including all three last weekend. Despite the recent setbacks, the Red Flash are still a couple of points ahead of the Colonials for fifth place in the NEC.

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 will stay on the road next weekend for a two-game trip to New England. Central Connecticut will be the opponent Friday, Oct. 25, with NEC newcomer Merrimack wrapping up the journey on Sunday, Oct. 27.