CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- The eternal flame that allowed Bobby Mo to get hot, against all odds, was finally doused by spring showers that consumed Klöckner Stadium most of the night, as No. 4/3 Virginia handed the
Robert Morris men's lacrosse team a 19-10 defeat in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday.
Robert Morris lost in the First Round for the second year in a row, though it never lost its sense of determination. The Colonials (9-8) overcame a jittery start to pull within two goals by the end of the first quarter, but the Cavaliers (14-3) won the war of attrition on ground balls, particularly of the second-chance variety, and won the special teams battle to put the "dead soldiers fighting" in their tomb.
A uniquely aggressive UVA defense that led the nation in opponent clearing percentage entering the tournament also presented problems for RMU, which was unable to go on one of the trademark scoring runs that underscored its march to May Madness.
It was an unfortunate ending to the collegiate careers of the 11 seniors who willed the Colonials back onto the national stage by creating some May madness of their own. After playing an integral role in capturing the squad's seminal NCAA Tournament berth in 2018, they led Robert Morris to a program-record eight consecutive wins in 2019.
That streak culminated in a second straight Northeast Conference Tournament championship, also the second in school history, despite a 1-7 start to the regular season. In addition, the Class of '19 reached the conference playoffs in each of the last four campaigns.
"We've always said that we're not going to let one day or one game define us," head coach
Andrew McMinn said. "Of course we felt like we could have done some things better tonight, but I'm just proud of the guys who got us here, and that does start with our senior leadership. They battled through a lot of adversity this year to get us to this point.
"Although tonight obviously wasn't our night, we're just proud of the fact that we were able to push through to get to where we are now."
Goalkeeper
Alex Heger, the two-time MVP of the NEC Tournament, played his heart out in his first and last NCAA Tournament appearance. After missing last year's historic journey due to a lower-body injury suffered in practice, Heger made 16 saves and grabbed a career-high seven ground balls from the Cavaliers.
The Carmel (Indiana) High School product finished with double-digit stops in ten of his last 11 outings. His 688 career saves, the most in RMU history, ended up third among Division I keepers who played in 2019, and his 11.10 saves-per-game average and .546 save percentage are second-best by a starting netminder in Colonial lore.
"Certainly there was extra motivation to get him to this point after last year. That was a disappointing ending to his season last year, but for him to get back, get this opportunity and play at a high level in this type of situation, we couldn't be more proud of him," said McMinn.
Heger kept the game scoreless for the first 7:42, until Virginia broke it open by scoring three times. Senior midfielder
Tyson Gibson, controlling one of his three ground balls from a resulting faceoff, went full extension across the top of the crease to beat Alex Rode and get Robert Morris on the board with 2:43 to go in the period.
Gibson, the three-time All-NEC First Team honoree, then set up fellow middie
Austin Popovich just 1:08 later, and the junior buried a wicked, bouncing shot from distance to make it 4-2.
That was the first of five assists for the NEC Player of the Year, who truly went out with a bang while matching his career high for the third time as a senior. Gibson is now the only player ever to pick up five apples in a game four different times in an RMU uniform, and the All-NEC Tournament Team selection led the Colonials with seven points against the Cavaliers.
A Major League Lacrosse draftee (Round 5, Pick 41; Atlanta Blaze) and nominee for the Senior CLASS Award, he ends his collegiate career as the all-time leader in assists at Robert Morris, with 89, and comes in fifth all-time in points, with 161.
Not far behind him on the career points chart is redshirt senior attackman
Matt Schmidt. No. 9 was oh so fine on his last trip to Klöckner Stadium Apr. 11, 2017, netting a hat trick that night, and he notched two more goals at Virginia's expense Saturday to finish on 99, the fifth-most in program history. His 138 career points are good for seventh place.
Defensively, senior long-stickman
Jack Toomb muddled through the mud admirably, registering four ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers. His 21 CT's this year were a career high, and his 64 all-time rank fifth in RMU history. The Cincinnati native finishes third among all Colonials with 210 career GB's.
Will Ewing, a stalwart on close defense, and Second Team All-NEC midfielder
Daniel Smith, who also stabilized the back end on a regular basis, finish with 66 career games to their credit, sharing the program record, and Ewing became the new record-holder for career starts, with 61.
Next season, the Colonials will build around a younger defensive corps featuring
Owen Down and
Evan Hellmich, both of whom reached double figures in ground balls and caused turnovers as freshmen. Hellmich finished second on the team with his 15 CT's.
Offensively, Popovich is but one example of the Colonials' unique depth going forward. Junior attackman
Ryan Smith, who attained career highs in every major category while returning to the All-NEC Second Team, struggled Saturday, but still managed his 40th goal of the year on a man-up chance from the left wing with 7:50 left in the first half.
Ryan Smith finished second on RMU in goals and third in points, eclipsed only by Gibson (69) and fellow attackman
Corson Kealey (62), who erupted for four goals against UVA. Kealey's attempt on the move, which narrowly dribbled across the goal line with 2:43 remaining, gave the Colonials a bit of momentum before halftime.
The sophomore All-NEC Tournament Team member completed his RMU-best 11th hat trick of the year near the midpoint of the fourth quarter. An impressive, rising shot from deep on the right wing that stung the corner behind Rode gave him a conference-leading 52 goals with 3:31 to play.
He and Smith helped the 2019 Colonials combine for 150 assists and 379 points as a team, both single-season program records. The team's 229 total goals were the second-most by a Robert Morris team in a single year.
"We like to use the term 'reload' more than the term 'replace,'" McMinn said. "We're very confident in the guys we have coming back, and we've sent that message to them.
"First and foremost, we're sorry to see those seniors go, after everything they contributed to the program and put into it. But we're certainly excited about those younger guys being able to get back in the mix next year, and hopefully take things further."
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