EMMITSBURG, Md. -- Facing another uphill battle on the Mount, the 2019
Robert Morris men's lacrosse team fought it, and won it, the best way it knew how: the hard way.
Before a spring storm was unleashed upon the Mount St. Mary's University campus, the Colonials had to weather a storm from a group of Statesmen in anything but a diplomatic mood after an emotional Senior Day at Joe Walton Stadium one week earlier that had given head coach
Andrew McMinn's "dead soldiers" new life.
When the final whistle blew, however, they were awash in a much grander celebration that McMinn had insisted, back when it was but a dream, could be crystallized.
Robert Morris edged Hobart, 11-10, at Waldron Family Stadium Saturday to earn back-to-back Northeast Conference Men's Lacrosse Tournament championships. By coming from behind in the fourth quarter once again, the Colonials (9-7) became the first No. 4 seed in the tournament's nine-year history to take the title.
"Again, I'm just so proud of these guys. To be in the situation we were in, where it looked like we were down and out...you've heard me say it all year, they just keep fighting. That's exactly what we did today," he said.
"We had a meeting when we were 1-7 and watched our celebration from last year. Coach McMinn said, 'This is still possible,'" said sophomore attackman and All-NEC Tournament Team member
Corson Kealey, whose 48th goal of the season held up as the game-winner. "We all just started working harder and having more positive energy, and we're here now. It's unreal."
The Statesmen (11-5) stubbornly held a 6-3 advantage before RMU, for the third game in a row, scored five unanswered second-half goals to take the lead for good. The two-time NEC flag-bearer rolls into its second consecutive NCAA Tournament on a program-record eight-game winning streak, having won each of its last three despite trailing after three periods.
In seven previous seasons under McMinn, the Colonials had only pulled that off six other times.
"I don't know why we keep having to put ourselves in that position, but if we keep getting that result, I'll take it," senior goalkeeper
Alex Heger said, with a hearty laugh.
In both tournament contests, when the Colonials sputtered on offense early, they found their fuel by taking the nearby exit to "Hegerstown." His .542 save percentage for the week, which included 12 stops on the Statesmen, was good enough to earn him back-to-back NEC Tournament MVP awards.
The Carmel, Indiana native, the most decorated keeper in team history and top-four among active Division I netminders in career saves (672), has recorded double-digit denials in nine of his last ten outings. He also combined for five ground balls in tournament play.
"Like last year, I can't even describe it. It's the best feeling ever. I'll never forget it."
Perhaps another nail-biter was inevitable. The previous three meetings between Robert Morris and Hobart, and four of the prior five, had each been decided by one goal as well. This was also the case with both 2019 NEC Semifinals, and the previous two NEC Finals.
Senior midfielder
Daniel Smith, an All-NEC Second Team selection, had been on defense a year ago during the play that forced overtime at St. Joseph's. This time, he made the play that prevented it.
Hobart gained possession and used its last timeout to try and draw something up with 1:28 left. First, freshman defenseman
Owen Down forced Eric Holden's rising attempt to sail wide, then Smith, positioned perfectly, reached up to intercept another errant shot, by Derrek Madonna, before the Statesmen could back it up again.
With help from fellow fourth-year middie
Tyson Gibson, who had harassed Madonna effectively, and from junior attackman
Ryan Smith, who drew a checking penalty in the final moments, the Colonials ate up the rest of the clock.
"We just played our ball: Bobby Mo ball," Heger said. "I knew we were going to turn it over and ice the game."
Fittingly,
Daniel Smith had been the last RMU player to touch the ball before Gibson's championship heroics in 2018. Gibson made the 2019 all-tournament squad after finishing the week with five points (2 G, 3 A), including his sudden-victory sequel on Thursday.
"I was very nervous," said Smith with a chuckle. "When Coach puts you in there with 30 seconds left, you've just got to work as a unit. We've just got to trust each other. When the shot went, it just kind of trickled over, and I think Tyson got a piece of it.
"Luckily, I was right there, then Tyson broke out, and that was that."
Daniel Smith's career-high 31st ground ball, his most important one to date, symbolized how RMU's defense outworked the Statesmen down the stretch. The Colonials grabbed nine of 16 GB's in the fourth quarter, and 17 of 28 in the second half.
Ryan Smith, improbably, scooped one of those ground balls through an angry sea of humanity and flung it into an exposed net to give RMU a 10-7 lead, its biggest of the day, and compel the Statesmen to use their first timeout with 8:08 left in the game. He earned his tenth hat trick of the year and game-high fourth point on the play.
He also got Robert Morris on the board in the first half. The two-time All-NEC Second Team honoree dodged and raced right out in front of Sam Lucchesi to bury his 37th goal of the season 1:56 into the game, then, with a defender in his face left of the crease, put a brilliant turnaround shot into the top corner for a 2-2 tie in the first 1:34 of the second quarter.
Unlike that Senior Day matchup between two of the nation's highest-scoring teams, offense was at a premium for both teams in this contest.
Jake Boudreau used his speed to create some space on the right wing midway through the second, and the sophomore attackman forged a 3-3 deadlock, beating Lucchesi on the fly.
In the meantime, RMU mitigated any damage done by the Statesmen by killing a major penalty and forcing five bad clears in the first half, and Heger raised eyebrows with his six second-quarter saves.
When Hobart got into penalty trouble, it was Lucchesi's turn to shine. He proved his own worth as an all-tournament team pick with seven stops in the third. With 3:39 remaining, however, Kealey got to the edge of the crease and dunked one to make it a 6-4 game, and the ritual Bobby Mo conflagration had begun.
"It was definitely a little bit different of a game than we expected early on, and both goalies were playing extremely well," McMinn said. "I just talked to the guys about sticking with the gameplan, and understanding that he made a lot of stops against us last time. We just wanted to keep shooting, and that's what we did."
Redshirt senior attackman
Matt Schmidt hit the back of the net with a bullet from the left elbow just 1:38 later. When junior
Trey Arnold stuck around after a hard-fought faceoff win, aided by a Gibson ground ball, and blistered it past Lucchesi from distance just 26 seconds into the fourth quarter, the game was tied at six, and momentum was squarely on the Colonials' side.
The FOGO tandem of Arnold and
Michael Autry were integral to their comeback efforts, holding their own against decorated specialist Matthew Pedicine. Arnold went 7-for-13 (.538) from the X on Saturday, and Autry made the all-tournament team after finishing the week 17-for-36 (.472) with a goal in the semifinals.
"I was just taking it one faceoff at a time," said Autry after playing a stone's throw from his native Frederick. "I trusted my wings, and that, if I put the ball on the ground, or if I took it from [Pedicine] and heaved it, that one of us would come up with it."
Robert Morris continued to turn the tide moments later, as
Ryan Smith made a sneaky pass from beside the Hobart net to
Eddie Smith. The latter, unrelated Smith took it in transit, pump-faked and whipped it in to give his team a lead it never relinquished.
Boudreau added to that lead with his 17th of the campaign and second of the day with 11:50 to go. Kealey drew attention away from him on the right wing and connected with his fellow Ontarian, who got Lucchesi to bite on a similar fake and scored easily.
When the Statesmen quickly made it a one-goal affair, Schmidt needed exactly one minute to respond for RMU from his familiar spot on the left side, his 28th of the season.
"Everything came together. These guys have so much heart, this whole team, top to bottom," he said. "It's all the 5:00 a.m. wake-ups, the 'Hell weeks,' the not knowing when we're going to work out, then getting a call at 4:00 a.m...all that paid off so much. You can see it on everybody's face right now, just walking around knowing that they're...champions right now. Best feeling in the world."
After Hobart pushed back and threatened to tie,
Daniel Smith registered his ninth caused turnover of the year, matching his career high, and Robert Morris tried to put a foot down by shortening the game. Thanks to Kealey, it worked.
The Colonials ate up as much clock as was prudent, then picked up the pace as they worked the ball around the horn to the NEC goals leader. He rung up his critical 48th of the season on a rug-burner from the close right wing that made it 11-9 with 1:48 to play.
"We just wanted to keep it simple and use our shot clocks. Simple, adjacent ball movement," said Kealey. "We got our opportunities, and we buried."
Despite a Statesmen goal off the ensuing faceoff, Robert Morris, ultimately, provided its fans with another "Bobby Mo-ment" by proving the moment was not too big for this historically resilient group.
"We definitely like to show up in the fourth quarter. I think it goes back to Coach McMinn's 'dead soldiers fighting,'" senior defenseman
Jack Toomb said. "We bring the effort all game, but the fourth quarter, we know, is where all the background work comes into play--the weight room, and all that stuff. I'm super proud of my team and blessed to be a part of this experience."
The Colonials will learn where the journey takes them next at 9:00 p.m. EDT Sunday, during the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament Selection Show. The show can be seen live on ESPNU, and at a public watch party at All-Star Sports Bar & Grill in Robinson Township.
No matter their fate, they not only enjoyed their rare achievement this weekend, but had just as much fun sharing it.
"Coach McMinn has instilled it from the beginning: it's the work ethic, it's the bond we have here," said Autry. "It's in our playbook, it's what we follow, it's just who we are. When I got here, they just made me feel like family. It didn't matter what I was doing, who I was with or who I was. As long as I was with them, I was always protected."
"We're still 'dead,'" a jubilant McMinn declared, tongue in cheek. "We're just going with that same mentality moving forward. We'll keep fighting like we have our last battle ahead of us, and see where we can take this."Â
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