MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Northeast Conference tournament hopes remained alive for the
Robert Morris University men's soccer team, which came from behind to crush Sacred Heart 5-1 on Friday afternoon at the North Athletic Complex.
Roald Aas Ravlum,
Onando Collins and
Jon Faynik each scored their first NCAA goals in the Colonials' biggest offensive outburst in exactly six years.
Matt Cillo and
Michael Petitti also netted goals, while sophomore goalkeeper
Keaton Jennings came off the bench to stop a penalty kick and earn his first college victory.
Ravlum, a junior from Norway, led the way with three points in a substitute role, scoring the go-ahead goal in the 51st minute before assisting on Collins' insurance tally 11 minutes later. After sitting out the first half, Ravlum's spark was critical as RMU (4-9-2, 3-3-1 NEC) rebounded from back-to-back league losses.
"I just tried to stay focused," said Ravlum. "I thought, 'I need to score, or make something happen.' Once we got to 1-1, the spirit lifted up on the whole team. You could see it was a whole different game. We had faith."
Sacred Heart (2-9-2, 1-3-2 NEC) carried a 1-0 lead into the break on a C.J. Weinstein rebound volley, but RMU junior wing Cillo got the Colonials' ball rolling in the 48th minute with his second goal of the year. Running onto a deflected ball from senior
Noah Elamin, Cillo steadied himself and
placed a perfect shot off the left post.
Ravlum got revved up in the 51st minute, receiving a back-post corner kick from freshman
Ethan Romito, taking a touch to the end line and
cracking a shot that skipped under Sacred Heart keeper Robert Strain.
The result appeared secure in the 63rd, when Ravlum played a square ball for a streaking Collins on right wing; the senior from Jamaica calmly buried his first goal in 29 RMU games from 10 yards out.
"We just had to tighten up, play wider and create chances there," Ravlum said. "I think everything is possible. We just have to keep it up and keep working."
The freshman Faynik notched a first of his own on 77 minutes, pouncing on a Pioneers turnover, again on the right side of the box. But there was time for one more celebration, as the freshman Petitti proved when he cut back and finished a dish from
Lorenzo Guagneli just before the final whistle.
Mixed in with all the offense was some solid backstopping: Jennings took over for starter
Grant Glorioso at the half, stopping three shots in his first NCAA appearance.
The flashiest of Jennings' saves was an
80th-minute penalty kick stop against Sacred Heart's six-goal man Segundo Navarro. Jennings stayed centered in the goal for Navarro's attempt, then reacted to his left to block the 12-yard blast.
"Trying my best to improve," said Jennings, a former North Catholic High School standout. "And when I get my shot, make it worth it. Make it count. I think I did that."
By making Friday's home fixture count, the Colonials kept pace with Long Island for
fifth place in the NEC standings, which will also be the final playoff spot when the regular season ends in two weeks.
RMU's next chance at three points will arrive next Friday, Nov. 1, when it hosts Long Island on Senior Day at 3 p.m. The Colonials will finish the season on the road, at Saint Francis U. on Sunday, Nov. 10.
"We just have to carry this out and hope that we can make that tournament," Jennings said. "If we win two out of two, we have a good chance of making it."
