MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Following the right trajectory may have taken a bit longer than it would have liked, but the
Robert Morris men's lacrosse team continued its gradual return to defending conference champion form by rallying for a 15-7 non-conference win over Bellarmine on a misty Saturday afternoon at Joe Walton Stadium.
The Knights (0-4), who gave Robert Morris its first victory by the same score a year ago, pushed back after falling behind by four goals early in the second quarter. The Colonials (1-2) calmly erased their halftime deficit with a 9-0 run that spanned the last two periods of their 2019 home opener, shutting out Bellarmine for the final 33:44 of play.
"We weren't going to hit the panic button by any means. We felt like we were getting the shots we wanted to take, and we had doubled them up on shots," head coach
Andrew McMinn said. "As we talked about, we just needed to execute with our shooting, and that was the focus in the second half."
To wit, RMU finished the day with a staggering 64 shots attempted to 32 by the Knights, and 36 of those made it on goal, compared to Bellarmine's 13. Goalkeeper Jordan Dondoyano stood on his head with 14 first-half saves and even survived a two-minute man-down situation, during which the Knights pulled even.
Robert Morris and its all-conference talent persevered, however. Redshirt senior attackmanÂ
Matt Schmidt fired in a game-high five goals, his most since a double hat trick versus Wagner Apr. 8, 2017. He led all competitors with seven points, and junior attackmanÂ
Ryan Smith picked up his second HT in as many weeks, adding two assists.
Schmidt tacked on four ground balls, and Smith extended the team's offensive zone time with three caused turnovers.
"We were flowing really well. In the first half, we were making just a couple of little mistakes we knew we had to clean up," Schmidt said. "We talked about it at halftime, we came back out here and were ready to roll. We did those little things at a high level, and we produced as a team."
Collectively, they worked hard to reduce the burden shouldered by All-American
Alex Heger, who only had to make five saves to become the winningest goalkeeper in Robert Morris history. McMinn rested Heger with 2:41 left in regulation, his 25th career victory safely in hand.
Fellow senior
Jack Toomb caused a pair of turnovers, and he is now just two shy of sixth in RMU lore with 47 career CT's.
With 19 caused turnovers in all, Robert Morris tied a team single-game record that has stood since Mar. 13, 2010. The Colonials limited themselves to 15 miscues, while the Knights committed 28.
Additionally, they won the ground ball battle for the first time this season, edging Bellarmine 32-31.
"It was just about moving the ball, making simple plays and not throwing away possessions," said freshman attackmanÂ
Brandon Sulhoff, who, along with
Jake Boudreau, provided two goals off the bench. "On defense, it was hustling, getting ground balls--especially in the middle of the field, on faceoffs."
Sophomore faceoff specialist
Michael Autry, who spent most of the game at the X, grabbed a career-high nine of those against the team from which he transferred in the off-season. Autry finished 13-for-23 (.565) on draws.
Schmidt needed less than a minute to get Robert Morris on the board first from his sweet spot on the left wing. Smith bounced off a defender and whipped a turnaround shot past Dondoyano from deep on the left side as well, giving the Colonials a 4-1 lead in the first quarter before the two hooked up for Schmidt's second, and a 5-2 advantage with 1:16 left.
The sixth of the year for Smith, and of the game for RMU, was perhaps the team's most incredible of the young season. With just over two minutes gone by in the second quarter, Smith crept up next to Dondoyano on the keeper's left and, with his back turned to the net, threw the ball over his shoulder and under the crossbar.
Once again, Schmidt took charge in the first minute of the half, completing his first hat trick since last year's Northeast Conference Tournament Final to tie the game, with senior midfielder
Eddie Smith earning his third assist of the day. Fellow middie
Tyson Gibson gave RMU the lead for good with 11:43 left in the third quarter, aided by
Austin Popovich.
Gibson has now found the net in 11 of his past 12 games and has registered a point in 24 of his last 25 outings.
An alert scoop-and-score by Schmidt, who flicked a mishandled ball past a frustrated Dondoyano right in front of the crease, gave Robert Morris a 10-7 cushion with 2:32 remaining in the period. A minute earlier,
Ryan Smith fed Sulhoff for his first goal as a collegian.
"It felt so good. I was waiting for it for so long," said the grinning newcomer from Owings, Maryland, "and it finally came. I've been working so hard this whole week."
Boudreau, despite being shaken up by a blocked shot in the first half, closed out the third-quarter scoring from inside the circle. He then took advantage of an offside call on the Knights with a man-up strike just under two minutes into the fourth, thanks to a pretty pass from Schmidt.
Ryan Smith rounded out his day offensively with 11:47 to go in the game, thanks to an assist from Schmidt. Not to be outdone, Schmidt, the two-time team leader in goals, matched him with his seventh of the year after the ensuing faceoff.
"We never let up," said Schmidt. "We work so hard throughout the week. We have core values that we follow, and we push the pace, every single day. It feels good to finally get repaid for that."
With their continued focus on their process and on self-improvement, the Colonials now have a result that gives them confidence while following that journey back on the road for another challenging non-conference test next Saturday at noon, at No. 13/11 High Point.
"We're always focused on making sure we're the best we can be. It felt like we had a better trip out the second week, and an even better trip out this week," McMinn said. "Now we're just looking forward to moving into next week."
Follow the Colonials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Snapchat
