MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- In finishing the regular season on the trot, the
Robert Morris University women's lacrosse team made history, with a chance for more in the upcoming Northeast Conference tournament.
The Colonials overcame a lukewarm start on a chilly Sunday afternoon at Joe Walton Stadium, overwhelming Central Connecticut in the second half on their way to an 18-5 Senior Day win. With its fifth win in a row, RMU (12-4, 5-2 NEC) established a new team record for victories in a season, with 12.
On a day when there was nothing tangible to play for in the context of the league standings, the Colonials surely gave themselves a boost heading into Thursday's NEC semifinal showdown with Wagner on the campus of Mount St. Mary's.
"This is awesome going into the postseason," said junior defender
Kelly Colegrove, who set season highs with six ground balls and five caused turnovers.
"It's really great for us. I think we've done a great job of working together and finding each other's strengths. We don't have one person that's scoring every game that we have to rely. We can come together every game and everyone is able to help out."
The Colonials sat at 3-2 on March 9 after a loss at George Washington, but they swept their next four opponents to come in at 7-2 in non-conference play. A two-loss NEC trip at Wagner and regular-season champ Mount St. Mary's led to another big rebound, allowing RMU to lock up the No. 3 seed and finish with its fourth consecutive winning record in league action.
"It shows the commitment we gave to each other," head coach Katrina Silva said. "It shows how much this group genuinely gets along. A lot of people talk about family, but to get 12 wins this year demonstrates how much we really care."
RMU had previously achieved 11 wins twice in its 15 years of Division I women's lacrosse, reaching that mark in 2014 and 2017. On top of that, the Colonials'Â 5-2 record in the NEC matches the program's best. A thrilling 12-11 home victory over Bryant on Friday put Silva's squad in position to use Sunday's game as a dress rehearsal for one-and-done tournament play.
Last-place Central Connecticut (2-14, 0-7 NEC) grabbed an early 3-2 lead and trailed by just two at the halftime break, but RMU gathered itself and buried the Blue Devils by an 11-0 count in the final 30 minutes.Â
"I think it's always exciting to celebrate the seniors in their last game on home turf," Colegrove said. "I think we came out a little shaky, but after halftime we got it together and said, 'We really need this,' so we turned it around."
The dynamic twin junior attackers Mackenzie and
Melanie Gandy churned out even more points Sunday, with each netting a hat trick in the Colonials' latest offensive outburst. Mackenzie added four assists to give her 10 points (6g, 4a) on the weekend and 64 points for the season, the third-highest total in program history. Melanie's two assists tied her with current volunteer assistant coach
Kristin Ilkin (Yoviene) for the second-most ever by a Colonial (28) in a single season.
Appropriately enough on a day when the five-person Class of 2019 was honored before first draw, senior
Kerri Sayrafe popped in three goals of her own, giving her 16 of her 24 during the five-game win streak. Classmate
Shannon Lynch poured in three points (1g, 2a), but the performances seemed secondary to the sentiment.
Sayrafe, Lynch,
Sophia Eureka,
Megan Yarberry and student assistant
Katelyn Welch were honored pregame for their contributions to a program that's gone 20-8 in NEC play over the past four years, qualifying for the tournament in each of those seasons.
"I think you can look at each senior and they've all brought a different characteristic, and the characteristics are what make us a true family," Silva said.
"Shannon plays with passion; you can see it when she plays. Kerri is analytical and diligent and hardworking. 'Soph' is like the glue; she holds everything together. 'Yarbs' is loyalty, inside and out. Kate is like my right-hand kid; I don't know how I'm going to get along without her.
"What a great group of five. What an amazing time they've had here."
As is usually the case when RMU has claimed wins this season, every class was heard from on the stat sheet.
Sophomores
Hannah Miller and
Kelley Flynn each scored twice and junior
Clio Kerr added a couple as well, lifting her total over the win streak to eight goals. (Kerr also won a season-high 11 draws.) Freshman
Emilie Kim scored her first goal since February.
It was a memorable milestone for junior goalie
Katelyn Miller, too, as she lowered her record-setting goals-against average to 9.79 while stopping five of 10 CCSU shots. Her 12th win on the season established a new single-season best for an RMU 'keeper. Her 32 wins in her career rank second in team history.
With Miller standing sentry in the crease, defense has been a signature during this recent surge, with the Colonials allowing 6.4 goals per game over their past five outings.
"We played an awesome zone," Colegrove said after the Blue Devils managed just 18 shot attempts. "It's great to see everyone working together. If someone's going to take a risk and go for the interception, we know that someone is going to have their back and slide and cover their ground. It's been awesome to know we can rely on each other."
The next step for RMU as it enters its sixth consecutive NEC tournament? Try to win a postseason game for the first time ever. First draw against Wagner, a team that's sent the Colonials home three straight springs, is set for 11 a.m. Thursday at Waldron Family Stadium in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
"There's going to be a lot of emotion, a lot of excitement," Silva said. "We'll have to be able to handle and channel that emotion in a positive way.
"Maybe more history to be made."
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