Men's Lacrosse | 3/16/2019 1:27:00 AM
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The
Robert Morris men's lacrosse team visits the Pioneers of Sacred Heart University Saturday, the first Northeast Conference opponent of its ninth season as a member. The opening faceoff from Campus Field in Fairfield, Connecticut is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. EDT and can be seen on NEC Front Row.
Robert Morris began the 2019 campaign with six consecutive non-conference games. The Colonials are coming off a 17-15 loss to Marquette at Joe Walton Stadium Tuesday in which they tied their season-high in goals for a second time but succumbed to a second-quarter run by the Golden Eagles that wiped out a four-goal lead.
Robert Morris (1-5) at Sacred Heart (4-3)
Mar. 16 (12:00 p.m.) - LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS
The Colonials have won three straight from the Pios to even their all-time series at 7-7.
Matt Schmidt, one of 11 different RMU goal-getters, scored four times to lead a come-from-behind 12-8 triumph at Joe Walton Stadium on St. Patrick's Day in 2018.
Tyson Gibson set career marks in assists (three) and points (four) in a 12-9 victory Mar. 18, 2017, the team's last visit to Campus Field, while
Alex Heger set a personal high in saves, with 17, also collecting four ground balls.
SCOUTING SACRED HEART
Owners of the longest active win streak in the conference, the NEC's hottest team heads into league play after a tough February that saw SHU go 1-3, including an 0-2 start at home. The Pioneers have won three straight road games to start the month of March, finding their form away from Campus Field with a 17-16 road win over Providence and a 12-11 overtime decision over Stony Brook, followed by a come-from-behind 16-12 victory at Hartford last Saturday.
The Pioneers have racked up 13.57 team goals per game to give SHU the 12th-ranked scoring offense in the nation and second-best in the NEC. Leading the charge offensively is the dynamic senior tandem of Joe Saggese (21 G, 15 A) and Max Tuttle (21 G, 9 A), who have combined for 66 points (9.43 per game) and both rank among the nation's top 20 in individual goals per game through seven games.
Tuttle has already become the program's D-I leader in career points (170), while ranking second in goals (116) and fourth in assists (54). Saggese is another of the top offensive players in program history, ranking third all-time with 167 career points, while also sitting fifth in goals (103) and third in assists (64). Both were 2019 Major League Lacrosse draftees, with Tuttle going sixth overall.
MUSKET SHOTS
Bleed American
Saturday pits two 2019 Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-Americans against each other: Max Tuttle (SHU) and
Alex Heger. On Mar. 9 Heger, the first First-Teamer in RMU history, became the team's seventh Major League Lacrosse draftee all-time, per the Ohio Machine, in Round Seven, with the 59th overall pick. Heger has recorded 539 career saves on the Robert Morris books, putting him fourth among active Division I keepers.
Hat's All, Folks
Dating back to last season, the Colonials have had at least one player record a hat trick in 15 of the last 16 games. That streak began with Schmidt's four-goal outing against the Pios Mar. 17, 2018. Tuesday was the second time in less than two weeks that three Colonials got an HT in the same game.
Tyson Gibson,
Corson Kealey and
Ryan Smith broke out the chapeaus versus Marquette, and Gibson, Kealey and Schmidt did so at No. 13/11 High Point Mar. 2.
Prize On The Eyes
Heger was named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List for the second straight year Mar. 1. He joins Tuttle as the two Northeast Conference representatives on the initial list, and one of only five goalkeepers in Division I who made that cut. Heger finished with 11 saves and four ground balls the last time he faced SHU, limiting Tuttle to two goals and one assist.
You Stay CLASSy, Maple, Ontario
Tyson Gibson is a candidate for the Senior CLASS (Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®) Award, one of the premier citizenship awards in Division I athletics. Gibson is fourth all-time at Robert Morris with 59 assists, having passed
James Rahe '16 (Vancouver Warriors, NLL) with his first apple versus Canisius Mar. 9. That night, the Atlanta Blaze, with Pick No. 41 of Round Five, made him the sixth MLL draftee in team history.
Bobby Mo To Pro
Zachary Bryant (Ohio Machine, 2018);
Sean Meagher (Charlotte Hounds, 2015); Kiel Matisz (Hamilton Nationals, 2012); Trevor Moore (Chesapeake Bayhawks, 2011) and Patrick Smith (Ohio, 2011) preceded Gibson and Heger as RMU's all-time Major League Lacrosse draftees.
How Aboot That!
Gibson, who became just the tenth different RMU player with eight or more points in a single game Mar. 12, is one of 15 Canadians on its 2019 roster. This gives the Colonials the most Canadians, and also, the most international players, of any Division I men's team this year.
Eight Is Enough
Gibson's eight-point effort against Marquette Tuesday, which included a career single-game high four goals, was the 15th in RMU history, and the first since
Jimmy Perkins registered eight at Wagner Apr. 21, 2018. Entering Saturday, Gibson now ranks sixth in the NEC with his 14 goals, tied for third with his ten assists and fifth in the league with his 24 points.
Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away Now...
Robert Morris tied a team single-game record with 19 caused turnovers versus Bellarmine, which hadn't been done since a 15-6 win over Detroit Mercy Mar. 13, 2010. The Colonials rank second in the NEC with an average of 10.67 CT's per game, which puts them among the top 15 in the NCAA.
Jack Toomb leads the Colonials with 12; last season, his 19 were a career high.
Toomb Raider
Toomb, with seven ground balls Mar. 9, passed Kyle Buchanan '12 for No. 3 in RMU lore and now has 184 all-time. He is fifth at RMU with his career average of 3.41 GB's per game. Toomb matched his season high with three caused turnovers versus Marquette Tuesday. He ranks sixth in program history with 55 career CT's, just five away from entering the top five.
An EMO Band
The Colonials went 4-for-4 on extra-man opportunities at No. 9 Penn State Feb. 9. This marked the third time within the past calendar year and eighth time in team history that RMU registered four in a single game, previously doing so Mar. 17, 2018 against Sacred Heart (Torok-Orban, Schmidt, Kealey,
Eddie Smith). Robert Morris leads the NEC and ranks among the top 15 teams in the NCAA with its .412 conversion rate in man-up situations.
Arnold's Market
Trey Arnold went 13-for-23 (.565) from the X the last time he faced Sacred Heart. Arnold has taken 819 career faceoffs for RMU, the fourth-most among active collegians. Arnold, now with 143 career ground balls, needs five to pass Keith Lee '11 for sixth in program history.
The Tall Guy
Will Ewing made his 50th career start versus Canisius Mar. 9, becoming the eighth Colonial to reach that milestone. He also matched his career single-game high with three caused turnovers that night. With his next start, Ewing will tie ex-teammate and current graduate assistant
Adrian Torok-Orban '18 for sixth in Robert Morris history, with 52.
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