PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Robert Morris University women's lacrosse team got themselves into the win column Saturday afternoon at Joe Walton Stadium, taking down the visiting Golden Flash of Kent State University 18-7. The win moves them to 1-1 on the season.
The RMU depth was on display Saturday in Moon Township as 12 different Colonials recorded a goal on the afternoon. The Gandy sisters paced RMU on attack, combining for 13 points against KSU.
Mackenzie Gandy's four goals led all players on the field, as did her seven points. Goalkeeper Katelyn Miller tied the RMU all-time wins record for a goalie with her 33rd career victory, pulling even with Kaitlin Pentz '14 on the career leader list.
"I think we played a really nice game overall," head coach Katrina Silva said. "We were very concerned about the draw unit and we did a great job on that. I thought our kids came out to battle and it really showed. To be able to put up 18 goals you have to win the draw, and it showed today."
After being on the wrong end of a lopsided draw disparity last Sunday in Columbus, RMU turned in a solid effort on the draw Saturday at the Joe, enjoying a dominant 20-7 advantage over 60 minutes. Clio Kerr paced the Colonials with ten draw controls of her own.
Focused on maintaining their attacking edge and sharpening up the transition game after the loss to Ohio State a week ago, Saturday saw an RMU squad firmly in control from the opening whistle.
Bolstered as alway by strong performances from the Gandy twins, the Colonials depth contributed a large part of the effort in the win on KSU.
Twelve different Colonials all recorded at least a goal against the Golden Flashes, and 13 recorded at least a point.
Freshman Alex Eckert, Jordan Anderson, and Ashley Hannon all scored their first ever collegiate goals Saturday afternoon.
Senior Thalia Zolis netted her first of the 2020 campaign with a pair of her own, as did junior Kelley Flynn.
"It's so exciting to see," senior Melanie Gandy said. "You can just hear it from the sidelines and from the bleachers, everyone just feels that pure excitement when someone gets their first goal."
Mackenzie Gandy put RMU ahead just 39 seconds into Saturday's contest before her sister doubled things up two minutes later. For a game in which RMU only played without the lead for less than a minute, it was an ideal start that set the tone for RMU's attack the rest of the afternoon.
Though she only faced ten shots on goal, Katelyn Miller made a few timely saves as well when called upon, turning aside three chances from Kent State in 47:50 of action.
After KSU cut the Colonials lead in half at 2-1, RMU responded with another offensive outburst, rattling off four straight unanswered goals for a commanding 6-1 lead that put them firmly in the drivers seat.
"I thought our offense moved efficiently and with really great poise," Silva said. "Whether they were pressuring us out, or right smoothly off the draw, fast break or slow, we did well."
Special teams were also sharp for Robert Morris, who picked up man-up goals from both Melanie Gandy and Anderson. Gandy, Zolis, Hannah Miller, and Colleen Tifft all also converted free-position attempts into goals en route to a win.
The Colonials will return to action next Friday, February 21 when they host Akron at Joe Walton Stadium at 3:00 p.m.
"We rotated everyone through, and that is always our game plan," Silva said. "These women put in time in practice, and we want to make sure all that time pans out come game time. Everybody on our team knows that they're here to contribute."
