PITTSBURGH, Pa. — The
Robert Morris University women's lacrosse team play the second of three consecutive home games this Friday when they host the Akron Zips at Joe Walton Stadium at 3 p.m.
The Colonials are coming off their first win of the season last week after taking down Kent State 18-7 in their home opener last Saturday. They are undefeated in their last six games at The Joe dating back to a loss to Liberty University last February.
COLONIAL WLAX PREVIEW
ROBERT MORRIS (1-1-0, 0-0 NEC)
VS AKRON (0-2-0, 0-0-0 ASUN)
Friday, February 21 at 3:00 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 their 2020 home slate last week at The Joe, earning a 18-7 victory over the Golden Flashes of Kent State in a game where twelve different Colonials recorded a goal on the afternoon. The Gandy sisters paced RMU on attack, combining for 13 points.
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.
HISTORY LESSON
The Colonials are looking to win their second consecutive game of the 2020 campaign after an opening day loss at Ohio State on February 9. The Colonials have not earned wins in their first two home games since they took down Central Michigan and Saint Mary's during the 2017 campaign.
OPPOSITION RESEARCH
Akron is in the midst of their first ever season in program history after announcing their membership in the ASUN Conference two summers ago.
They started off 2020 with a 10-9 overtime loss to Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC before dropping a showdown at Gardner-Webb 18-5 last Sunday.
WEATHER REPORT
Sunny skies and a high of 35 degrees are expected for Saturday's showdown against the Zips. Nine mph wind gusts are also expected, however there is currently zero percent chance of precipitation.
THEY SAID IT
"The upperclassmen have really helped me transition from high school to college play. It's a lot harder, a lot stronger, a lot faster, but with great teammates to assist those goal we've been able to make it work out there." - Freshman
Colleen Tifft on her adjustment to the college game.
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 55 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 passing Kaitlin Pentz '14 for the most ever by an RMU goalkeeper after tying the mark against KSU last weekend.
- 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 13th all-time with 114 points, while Mackenzie is just 28 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 19-5 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.
