Men's Lacrosse | 3/28/2019 6:08:00 PM
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The
Robert Morris men's lacrosse team continues Northeast Conference play when it visits the Hawks of Saint Joseph's University Saturday afternoon. The opening faceoff from Sweeney Field in Philadelphia is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. EDT and can be seen live on NEC Front Row.
Robert Morris (1-7, 0-2) vs. St. Joseph's (5-4, 1-0)
Mar. 30 (1:00 p.m.) - LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS
The Colonials are coming off a 14-11 loss to NEC foe Mount St. Mary's at Joe Walton Stadium last Saturday, despite going on a 9-1 run midway through the game that included eight unanswered goals.
When RMU last met the Hawks for regular-season play, St. Joseph's nipped the Colonials, 8-7, on their Senior Day Apr. 28, 2018, for a first-place NEC finish. On its last trip to Sweeney Field, Robert Morris ended their school-record winning streak, and their season, while capturing its first NEC Tournament and punching its first-ever ticket to the NCAA Tournament on
Tyson Gibson's famous goal with :10 left in overtime of a 9-8 decision May 5, 2018.
On Apr. 1, 2017, their last regular-season excursion to Philly, the Colonials climbed out of an early 3-0 hole by going on a 7-0 run that spilled into the third quarter, en route to a 13-7 victory.
SCOUTING ST. JOSEPH'S
The Hawks jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and never trailed en route to their 11-6 defeat of Bryant at Beirne Stadium in Smithfield, Rhode Island last Saturday, the NEC opener for SJU. With that win, St. Joseph's is 26-5 all-time in regular-season conference games since joining the Northeast Conference for lacrosse in 2014.
Sophomore goalkeeper Mike Adler, named a Week 7 NEC Prime Performer, made 13 saves against the Bulldogs. Adler, one of the nation's rising stars at his position, made both the NEC All-Rookie squad and the All-NEC Tournament Team in 2018, and he is already up to eighth in program history in career saves. He finished with 11 stops, four ground balls and two caused turnovers in the 2018 NEC Final.
Fellow sophomore Nate Patterson was also pegged as a Prime Performer for his Week 7 efforts. The attackman scored twice and added two assists. He has 13 goals this year to share the team lead with sophomore midfielder Nick Vernacchio, who shares the captaincy with Adler and had a goal in the last regular-season meeting with RMU, Vernacchio is one of the holdovers from the reigning regular-season champs of the NEC, who endured heavy roster turnover entering 2019.
MUSKET SHOTS
Catch Me Outside, How 'Bout That?
On Mar. 9
Tyson Gibson became the sixth Major League Lacrosse draftee in RMU history, as the Atlanta Blaze took him with the 41st overall pick of the fifth round of the MLL Collegiate Draft. That same night,
Alex Heger became the seventh when the Ohio Machine tabbed him with the 59th pick of the seventh round. Additionally, the two are forever connected by the 2018 NEC Final; Heger caused the turnover that led to Gibson's golden goal at St. Joseph's.
Let's See That Again
When Heger bested Mike Adler in the NEC Final, he not only tied as the winningest keeper in RMU history, but he also earned NEC Tournament MVP honors. This week, both goalies made the NCAA Lacrosse Top Plays reel. Adler was chosen for a desperation save at Bryant, and Heger was chosen for setting up
Trey Arnold for a rare goalie-to-FOGO goal versus the Mount. It was the second goal by Arnold since his key third-quarter tally in the title game.
Arnold's Market
Arnold has taken 845 career faceoffs for the Colonials, the fourth-most among active NCAA Division I FOGOs. Arnold, who won 11 of 20 from the Hawks in last year's NEC Final, is third in the conference entering Saturday with 6.00 ground balls per game. On Mar. 16 at Sacred Heart, he became the sixth player in program history to collect 150 for his career.
Eyes On The Prize
Heger was named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List for the second straight year Mar. 1. He was one of two Northeast Conference representatives on the initial list, and one of only five goalkeepers in Division I who made that cut. Heger enters Saturday with a .549 all-time save percentage versus NEC teams, and he made a career-high 20 saves at Sweeney Field in 2017.
Hat's All, Folks
Corson Kealey, on Mar. 16 at Sacred Heart, became the tenth different Colonial to record a double hat trick. Last Saturday against Mount St. Mary's,
Ryan Smith got one for the third game in a row. Dating back to 2018, the Colonials have had at least one player record an HT in 17 of their last 18 games, including
Matt Schmidt's three goals in the NEC Final.
Canadian Bakin'
Gibson, Kealey and Smith are among the top ten in the Northeast Conference in both goals per game and points per game. Factoring in the 16 points by
Jake Boudreau, four of RMU's top five scorers are Canadians. The 2019 Colonials have 15 of those altogether, giving them the most of any Division I men's team, ditto the most international players of any kind, this year.
You Stay CLASSy, Maple, Ontario
Gibson was nominated for the 2019 Senior CLASS (Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®) Award, one of the premier citizenship awards in D-I athletics. One of four Colonial co-captains in 2019, he is third all-time at Robert Morris with 64 assists and now tied with former Calgary Roughneck
Jake Hayes '13 for ninth all-time with 123 points. Gibson has registered a point in 29 of his last 30 games dating back to the 2017 season.
Drawing A Blank
On Feb. 23 the Colonials shut out Bellarmine for the final 33:44. This was their longest stretch of scoreless ball since going 35:07 without allowing a goal to Cleveland State during a 14-5 win Apr. 14, 2018. RMU shut out the Mount for a span of 28:21 last Saturday. It shut out SJU for 30:55 during the NEC Final and for a 27:09 stretch on its prior trip to Sweeney Field.
Give 'Em Hell
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. Last Saturday,
Evan Hellmich matched his rookie high from that game with three CT's versus the Mount.
An EMO Band
The Colonials went 2-for-2 on extra-man opportunities versus the Mount last Saturday. In their last outing at SJU,
Matt Schmidt set a team single-season record with his ninth man-up goal. Schmidt co-leads Robert Morris with three EMO markers this year, and RMU leads the NEC with its .500 conversion rate in man-up situations, also tying for fourth in the NCAA.
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