PITTSBURGH, Pa. — The Robert Morris University women's lacrosse team opens its home schedule this Saturday afternoon when they host Kent State University at Joe Walton Stadium at 1 p.m. It marks the first of nine home games the Colonials will play at The Joe this season.
Coming off their winningest regular-season in program history and their sixth straight trip to the NEC Tournament, the Colonials return 21 players from last season's squad that entered the postseason as the #3 overall seed as they search for their first conference title in program history.
The Colonials were a remarkable 6-1 at home a season ago, and will look to keep that indomitable form rolling into 2020 when they host the Golden Flashes for a Saturday matinee this weekend.
The Colonials are coming off a 13-8 defeat at Ohio State in their first game of the season last Sunday.
COLONIAL WLAX PREVIEW
ROBERT MORRIS (0-1-0, 0-0 NEC)
VS KENT STATE (0-1-0, 0-0-0 ASUN)
Saturday February 15 at 1:00 p.m.
Joe Walton Memorial Stadium, Moon Township, Pa.
LIVE STREAM via NEC Front Row
LIVE STATS via Sidearm
LAST TIME OUT
RMU kicked off the 202 campaign on the road last week in Columbus, dropping a 13-8 decision against a very physical and skilled Ohio State squad. Mackenzie Gandy recorded her first hat trick of the season, and added an assist to lead the team with four points. Sister Melanie Gandy also potted two, while fellow senior Clio Kerr led RMU with four draw controls.
HISTORY LESSON
The Colonials are looking to win consecutive home openers for the first time since the 2014 and 2015 campaigns. RMU earned their first ever program win over Canisius in their first game at The Joe last season, taking down the Golden Griffins 11-10 on teh back of a six-point effort from Mackenzie Gandy.
OPPOSITION RESEARCH
Playing in just their second season ever at the Division I level, Kent State finished just 2-15 last season and just 1-5 in Atlantic Sun Conference play. The Colonials faced KSU in just their second ever game in program history a year ago, taking down the hosts 11-6 at Dix Stadium. KSU also opened up the 2020 season against Ohio State, falling 22-11 Wednesday night in Columbus.
WEATHER REPORT
Partly cloudy skies and a high of 38 degrees are expected for Saturday's home opener against the Golden Flash. Nine mph wind gusts are also expected, though there is little chance of precipitation.
THEY SAID IT
"We stuck with them. They were a really fast team and I think we held our own for a bit. They kind of got ahead of us a bit and we let them take control, so next game against Kent State we're hoping to control play from the first whistle to the last." - Senior Mackenzie Gandy on lessons learned against Ohio State.
KNOW BOBBY MO
- RMU was picked to finish third in the NEC in the preseason coaches' poll, with Wagner (first) and Mount St. Mary's (second) rounded out the top three projected standings.
- Goalie Miller has started every game for the Colonials since arriving on campus three years ago, a remarkable streak of 54 in a row. She has the best goals-against average (10.18) in the 15-year history of the program and the second-best save percentage (.465). Miller is one win shy of tying Kaitlin Pentz '14 for the most ever by an RMU goalkeeper.
- Miller and Mackenzie Gandy will both serve as team captains for RMU this season after being chosen by their teammates in the offseason.
- Robert Morris returns ten players who played in all 17 games last season, including three (Kerr, Colegrove, and Miller) who started all 17.
- The nine-member senior class is the largest cohort on the team. This group has participated in 32 wins so far at RMU and has never had a losing season.
- The Gandy sisters both rank among the all-time leading scorers in RMU history. Melanie currently sits 14th all-time with 108 points, while Mackenzie is just 35 away from breaking the all-time record of 179 set by Ashley Levering '09.
- Clio Kerr currently ranks second all-time in draw controls per game at 3.42. Her seven career man-up goals ranks third all-time.
- RMU has been formidable at Joe Walton Stadium in recent memory, owning a dominant 18-5 overall record at home dating back to the 2017 campaign.
- For a full list of all-time team records and stats, click here.
THE SILVA FILE
Entering her third season at the helm of the Colonials, Katrina Silva brings 13 years of Division I head coaching experience to the table. Before taking over the program in 2018, Silva served as an RMU assistant coach for five years and a volunteer assistant for one.
Previous to her time in Moon Township, Silva led the lacrosse programs at Virginia Tech (four years) and Colgate (seven), in addition to Division III Roanoke College. A goalie in her playing days, she was the 1993 Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year for Towson.
Silva will be joined by the returning Cacki Helmer as well as first-year assistant coach Chelsea Rosiek.
FOLLOW THE COLONIALS
In addition to reports and videos on RMUColonials.com, check out Twitter and Instagram for news and updates throughout the season.
