PHILADELPHIA -- The
Robert Morris men's lacrosse team, in order to tip the scales of its cross-state Northeast Conference rivalry, followed the same formula of suffocating defense and opportunistic offense it used to make program history the last time it traveled to Sweeney Field.
The Colonials (2-7, 1-2) collected hat tricks from all three starting attackmen, and senior goalkeeper
Alex Heger made a battle of wits with fellow all-conference honoree Mike Adler look like a no-brainer in a decisive 15-9 win at St. Joseph's (5-5, 1-1) Saturday afternoon.
Heger made a season-high 17 saves, almost two years to the day he recorded a career-high 20 in a victory at SJU (Apr. 1, 2017), and his .654 save percentage bested his .639 mark for the previous NEC Tournament, which culminated in that first-ever title and tournament MVP distinction May 5, 2018. The
Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-American also caused two turnovers and led all competitors with five ground balls.
Robert Morris, altogether, caused 14 of the Hawks' 22 turnovers, the most miscues it has forced since tying the team-single game record of 19 versus Bellarmine Feb. 23.
"I felt really good out there today. Our defense gave me a lot of good shots to see from outside our zone, and kept them out of shooting range for the most part," said Heger. "I got locked in right from the start and was able to carry that through most of the game."
RMU opened the game on an 8-1 run in which it conceded only a Nate Patterson goal at even strength over a span of 23:19. Junior
Ryan Smith and sophomore
Corson Kealey planted the seeds of that comfortable lead with their efforts, which ultimately yielded four goals apiece, and Kealey added a pair of second-half assists for a game-high six points.
Redshirt senior
Matt Schmidt contributed his third hatty of the season and first against an NEC foe since last year's championship contest with St. Joseph's, as Robert Morris converted exactly 50 percent of its total shots.
RMU also entered Saturday with a .500 success rate in extra-man opportunities that was tied for fourth in the NCAA, which it bolstered with three consecutive man-up markers that kept the Hawks at bay.
"The biggest thing was that we were just a lot more prepared for today," said Smith. "The whole week, (head) Coach (Drew) McMinn was really hammering home the point of getting into the scout more, watching more film. It really seemed like guys bought more into that, and it showed up on the field today."
Smith has now registered an HT in four straight games and six total this year, including three in a row against conference opponents. The 6'2", 220-pound Burlington, Ontario native remains one of the team's five top scorers, four of which come from its Division I-high 15-man Canadian contingent.
Fellow OntariansÂ
Jake Boudreau and
Tyson Gibson pulled their weight from the midfield, as the sophomore and senior, respectively, combined for seven assists. Gibson, drafted into Major League Lacrosse Mar. 9, along with Heger, has recorded a point in 30 of his past 31 outings, dating back to the 2017 campaign.
The patient Colonials drew first blood 2:27 into the game, when Boudreau set up Ottawa-born Kealey for an overhand attempt that got past Adler for his team-leading 22nd goal of the season. Smith doubled the lead off a turnover with just over ten minutes left in the first quarter, converting a quick shot from the left wing.
Heger kept it a 2-1 game with a save on Matt Tufano before junior midfielder
Austin Popovich, who scooped a season-high three ground balls, answered the Patterson goal by ripping one past Adler from the right elbow with 5:53 to play for his fifth of the year.
Smith slid off a defender and dove across the lip of the goal mouth with 3:23 remaining for his second score, after Heger had stoned Tufano once again. Kealey picked up his second with only two seconds to spare and the Colonials holding for the last shot, distancing himself from his man and beating Adler from close range on the right side.
Things got chippy in the second quarter, but Heger, who opened the period with an impressive stop of Teo Domic's powerful snipe, remained sharp. With about ten minutes left, Kealey drew a thirty-second penalty on the attack when he was pushed into the Hawks' crease. Furthermore, St. Joseph's was hit with three minutes of bench penalty time for unsportsmanlike conduct during the stoppage in play.
The Everest Academy product finished what he started for a 6-1 Robert Morris advantage, getting wide open to accept another pass from Boudreau and easily completing the hat trick, his fourth in as many games, from the same spot at the right side of the net. Thirty seconds later, Boudreau, in transition, found Schmidt in tight, and the Central Bucks East standout caught the Hawks scrambling for his 14th of the season.
Junior midfielder
James Scane, winner of the team's 2018-19 Iron Man Award for excellence in off-season conditioning, picked up his first assist of the year with 8:55 left in the half by setting up Smith for a distant one-timer. It was another successful fast-break sequence, and a third man-up goal in a 61-second stretch for the Colonials.
"We've responded really well to just playing simple on offense," Smith said. "Moving the ball as fast as we can, and knowing that our focus is on fast ball movement has been paying off for us this year."
RMU didn't let the Hawks breathe in the third quarter, either. The Colonials killed off an early one-minute penalty to Scane, aided by another Heger save, this time on Austin Strazzulla. Heger stood tall again before Schmidt finally opened the second-half scoring from his familiar spot on the left wing with 8:22 to go.
Rookie defenseman
Evan Hellmich supported his goalie by matching his season-high three caused turnovers for the second week in a row, and senior
Jack Toomb registered two. Toomb now has 59 CT's for his career, needing only one more to enter the top five in RMU history.
"I think we were of the same effort mentality," said Heger. "Not that we haven't given 100 percent effort in the past, but we flipped a switch. We were able to come up with 50-50 ground balls that, in the past, we might not have gotten, and there were a lot of other small details on the field that we took care of."
After SJU pulled one back, Robert Morris counter-punched with more outstanding work in transition. A methodical, tic-tac-toe play that began with Heger ended with Kealey hooking up with Smith, who cut across the middle and fired home his fourth of the day and 22nd of the season.
Kealey got his fourth of the game and 25th of the year right off the ensuing faceoff, and he capped his big afternoon with a helper on an extraordinary diving goal by
Brandon Sulhoff in the fourth quarter, the freshman's second tally of the contest.
The upperclassmen flexed their offensive muscles in the fourth quarter to salt away the win. Gibson's skillful shot-pass faked out the opposition and connected with Schmidt in the middle of the Hawks' defense, and the latter completed his hat trick for a 14-7 cushion with five minutes left.
The rejuventated Colonials return home Sat., Apr. 6 for further NEC action, taking on Wagner to begin their last month of regular-season play. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. EDT at Joe Walton Stadium, and admission is free.
"I think it's really just belief that can, hopefully, drive [our] team," said Smith. "If we just buckle down and really start believing we can still attain all of our team goals, we're going to have a special season for sure."
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