Men's Lacrosse | 2/9/2019 12:01:00 AM
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The
Robert Morris men's lacrosse team begins its 15th year as a member of NCAA Division I when it meets the consensus preseason No. 9 Nittany Lions of Penn State University for the first game of its 2019 regular season. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. ET at PSU's Holuba Hall, and admission is free.
The teams last faced each other Feb. 24, 2018 at Panzer Stadium in what could be considered the turning point of the season for Robert Morris. The Colonials attracted national attention when they rallied to upend the No. 16/15 Nittany Lions 12-9, igniting an overall five-game winning streak and 9-1 hot streak that led to the capture of their third straight NEC Tournament berth.
For the Colonials, this will mark their first meeting inside Holuba Hall since Feb. 4, 2017, when RMU bowed to No. 15/14 Penn State, 15-11, in a season opener highlighted by a hat trick and four-point effort from
Matt Schmidt.
(RV/RV) Robert Morris (0-0) at #9/9 Penn State (1-0)
Feb. 9 (11:00 a.m.) - LIVE STATS
Fans are encouraged to park in the Jordan East Lot, as space near Holuba Hall is limited. The grassy areas south of Dauer Drive are available for tailgating.
Those who wish to park near the venue are advised to arrive early in anticipation of the Robert Morris women's hockey team's 1:00 p.m. game at neighboring Pegula Ice Arena.
Handbags, purses and the like are permitted, but all are subject to search.
ABOUT ROBERT MORRIS
Coming off a 13-5 finish in 2018 and its first Northeast Conference Tournament championship in history, the Robert Morris men's lacrosse team is now an overwhelming favorite to take its first regular-season title in seven years.
The Colonials, for the first time ever, have been unanimously projected as the conference front-runner in the annual NEC Preseason Men's Lacrosse Coaches' Poll, released last Tuesday. RMU had not been picked to finish first since 2011, the first year the NEC sponsored men's lacrosse, when it garnered four of six first-place votes.
Head coach
Andrew McMinn returns for his eighth season at the helm. Following his team's unprecedented NCAA Tournament trip, it also earned back-to-back NEC Sportsmanship Awards. McMinn's 2019 roster features five returning all-conference honorees.
Those include senior goalkeeper
Alex Heger and senior midfielder
Tyson Gibson, the OT hero of the championship game. Attackmen
Matt Schmidt, a redshirt senior, and
Ryan Smith, a junior, are also in that group, ditto senior defenseman
Jack Toomb. Sophomore
Corson Kealey, a member of the 2018 All-NEC Rookie Team, is back on offense as well. Gibson and Toomb joined Heger on the 2019
Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-NEC Team.
RMU, after ending its historic journey with a pair of top-20 rankings, received votes in both the national preseason media poll by
Inside Lacrosse and the USILA Coaches' Division I Poll.
Minimally, the Colonials have received votes in 14 straight IL polls and ten consecutive USILA polls dating back to last February, both team records.
SCOUTING PENN STATE
The Nittany Lions, initially, have lived up to their own preseason hype, knocking off Villanova, 17-7, in their season opener at Holuba Hall Feb. 2.
TJ Malone earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors for his hat trick against the Wildcats, while goalkeeper Colby Kneese was named the conference's Specialist of the Week for his career-high 19 saves (.826) in Penn State's curtain-raiser.
Additionally, Grant Ament was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. Ament did not miss a beat after missing last year's game against Robert Morris, as well as the rest of the 2018 season, with a foot injury, recording a career-high seven assists and ten points versus Villanova.
Perhaps the more topical claim to fame for the men's team at Penn State, however, is that New England Patriots wide receiver Chris Hogan, he of the winning side in Super Bowl LIII, was a 2009 lacrosse captain and All-Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference honoree.
HEADLINES
Alexander The Great
Senior goalkeeper
Alex Heger was touted as a First Team Preseason All-American by
Inside Lacrosse. The 5'10", 170-pound Carmel, Indiana native enters his last collegiate campaign as RMU's all-time leader in career saves (474) and save percentage (.578), while tied for the most victories in a Colonials uniform (24).
Heger is the third player in team history to be chosen as an IL Preseason All-American, and the first since Trevor Moore and Kiel Matisz were jointly named Honorable Mention Preseason All-Americans in December of 2010. Max Tuttle (Sacred Heart) is the only other Northeast Conference representative on this year's All-American rosters.
Last spring, Heger got his second straight First Team All-NEC nod before capturing NEC Tournament MVP honors with a combined .639 save percentage and six ground balls in wins over Bryant and regular-season champion St. Joseph's. Against the Hawks, he also caused the turnover that led to the sudden-victory goal by
Tyson Gibson that gave the Colonials their first tournament title in history.
An unfortunate lower-body injury suffered in practice kept Heger from participating in his team's maiden NCAA Tournament voyage. Nevertheless, he finished the 2018 season with a .603 save percentage that ranked second nationally, as did his 7.49 goals-against average. His GAA was the lowest in a single season by any RMU keeper to play a full year, and the Carmel High School product also established a new Robert Morris single-year record with his 12 victories in net.
Heger was a three-time NEC Defensive Player of the Week honoree in 2018 and made the second round of additions to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List Apr. 12, making him the third NEC player to be considered.
Furthermore, he averaged 11.31 saves per game as a junior, the third-most in a single season in RMU history, and enough to crack the NCAA's top-15.
On Mar. 10, 2018, at No. 19/18 Marquette, Heger helped tie a team single-game mark for the fewest goals allowed to a Division I opponent in a 12-2 win. Among his other regular-season highlights were his season-high 19 saves, one shy of tying his career best, at NEC rival Mount St. Mary's Mar. 24 in a 15-5 triumph.
Heger is one of 27 men coming back to a Colonials team that finished 2018 with a team GAA of 8.00 that tied for fourth in the NCAA and smashed the school record of 10.31 established in 2017. Fueled by their star keeper, they also finished sixth in D-I with a success rate of .771 on man-down defense.
Captain's Log
Gibson, meanwhile, emerged as one of the top playmakers in the NEC in 2018 even before his golden goal with ten seconds left in overtime of the NEC Tournament Final at No. 20 St. Joseph's May 5, 2018. The 6'1," 188-pound Maple, Ontario native produced 46 points, third-most on the team, and his 24 assists tied for the third-most in the conference, and he was named one of four captains by McMinn.
Schmidt, the two-time team leader in goals, was named to the 2019 leadership group after netting 36 last season, which also ranked third in the NEC. Additionally, his nine man-up markers in 2018, while tying for the fifth-most in Division I, set a new Robert Morris single-year record.
Meanwhile, seniors
Will Ewing and
Mike Eveland will bring their wealth of experience to the defensive captaincy. Ewing collected 19 ground balls and caused 13 turnovers in 2018, both career highs, and Eveland enters the season with 38 career GB's and 24 CT's at Robert Morris.
Arnold's Market
Junior FOGO
Trey Arnold returns to the scene of his collegiate debut Saturday. He won 11 faceoffs and collected three ground balls in that 2017 contest, and he went on to finish that year with a .445 faceoff win percentage that was good enough to make the Northeast Conference All-Rookie Team.
Arnold seeks a breakout season after leading RMU with 57 ground balls in 2018, and after putting himself through rigorous off-season conditioning. He surpassed 300 career faceoff wins as a sophomore, putting himself inside the program's all-time top ten, while matching up with several of the nation's top players at the position.
Sophomore faceoff specialist
Michael Autry, who transferred to RMU from Bellarmine this past summer, is expected to challenge for playing time at his position.
The Colonials will face Bellarmine in two weeks for their home opener, a noon contest at Joe Walton Stadium.
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