Men's Lacrosse | 3/6/2020 11:49:00 AM
Moon Township, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University men's lacrosse team finishes up a two-game road swing and a stretch of five of six contests away from Joe Walton Stadium when it travels to Marquette on Saturday, March 7 at noon (ET), 11:00 a.m. (CT). The Colonials return home after this for a three-game run at their friendly confines, starting Saturday, March 14 against Hobart.
GAME #6
Robert Morris Colonials (3-2, 0-0 NEC) @ Marquette Golden Eagles (3-2, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Saturday, March 7, 2020 // 12:00 p.m. (ET) // Milwaukee, Mich. – Valley Fields (1,750)
Live Video: GoMarquette.com // Live Stats: GoMarquette.com
History w/ Marquette
Overall: 1-3 | Home: 0-2 | Away: 1-1 | Neutral: 0-0 | Streak: L1
Last Game: March 12, 2019 – Moon Township, Pa. – Marquette 17, Robert Morris 15
This will be the fifth straight year that Robert Morris and Marquette have met on the pitch, with the Golden Eagles holding a 3-1 edge in the all-time series. The Colonials have lost both meetings at Joe Walton Stadium, but captured a historic triumph in Milwaukee two years ago.
RMU used a 7-0 first-quarter barrage to rout No. 18 Marquette in 2018, 12-2. The two goals allowed matched a program record against Division I opponents, and it was the second of three victories over nationally-ranked foes that season.
Alex Heger made 12 saves in a dominant effort in the cage, while
Ryan Smith (2g, 1a) and
Matt Schmidt (2g, 1a) both posted three-point afternoons.
Last year, the Colonials saw a 7-3 first-quarter advantage evaporate in the second frame, as the Golden Eagles rode that 8-1 run to a 17-15 win at Joe Walton Stadium.
Tyson Gibson and
Corson Kealey both recorded four goals each, while Gibson added four assists to total eight points on the day. Smith also registered a hat trick, and
Jake Boudreau and
Shane Majewski tallied a pair of goals each.
Scouting the Golden Eagles
Marquette owns a 3-2 overall record, with triumphs over Cleveland State (11-10, OT), Bellarmine (11-10, and Detroit Mercy (18-6). Like the Colonials, the Golden Eagles' two losses this season have come to Jacksonville (9-11) and Drexel (11-13). They were selected to finish fifth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Freshman midfielder Chris Kirschner has adjusted quite well to collegiate lacrosse, leading Marquette in goals (13) and points (15). Fellow first-years Jake Stegman and Devon Cowan have double-digit points to their names with 12 and 11, respectively, while senior midfielder Connor McClelland has seven goals in three games.
Sophomore Thomas Washington is the Golden Eagles' primary faceoff option, winning 49.0 percent of his 104 draws. He also has a team-high 28 groundballs, while freshman defenseman Mason Woodward has tallied 23 groundballs to go along with a team-leading nine caused turnovers. In the cage, junior John Hulsman has started all five contests, owning a .456 save percentage and 10.03 goals against average.
Marquette has one of the best man-down defenses thus far, ranking 12th nationally at .818. The Golden Eagles are also 15th in caused turnovers (9.60), but rank near the bottom in saves (8.40, 71st in NCAA).
Keep It Poppin'
With the graduations of
Tyson Gibson and
Matt Schmidt, senior midfielder
Austin Popovich was looked upon to take a more significant role in the Robert Morris attack this season. He's accomplished just that in five games, flying past his 2019 goal total (10) with 16 tallies to go along with six assists for a total of 22 points. The senior ranks third in the NEC in goals per game (3.20) and fourth in points per game (4.40).
Popovich has posted two seven-point efforts, shattering his previous career high of three from last season. The Columbus, Ohio native opened the 2020 campaign with five goals and two helpers in a 22-8 win at Canisius, and recently recorded four scores and three assists in a 16-13 triumph at Detroit Mercy.
Off and Running
Ryan Smith has been productive since the moment he stepped on Robert Morris' campus, but he has reached a new level in 2020. Through five games, Smith ranks 19th nationally in points per game (5.00) and 28th in assists per game (2.00), and has totaled 15 goals and 10 assists. The senior moved up to sixth all-time at RMU in assists (51) and seventh in goals (92) and points (143).
Smith began his final hurrah in an epic way, topping the program single-game standard for points with 10 in a 22-10 triumph at Canisius on Feb. 15. His 10 points came the way of eight goals – tying the school standard – and two assists, as the Colonials racked up their most goals in a season opener since 2010 (W, 24-17 at Penn State).
The senior's 10-point afternoon topped the previous nine-point efforts of
Jake Hayes and
Luke Laszkiewicz (twice), while the eight goals matched Laszkiewicz's tally on April 19, 2016 at Canisius.
Taking the Next Step
An All-NEC Rookie Team selection last year as a key reserve,
Brandon Sulhoff has flourished in an expanded role to begin 2020 as he has surpassed his 2019 goal tally with 12 scores through five games. Sulhoff has been efficient with his chances, putting the ball on net 18 of 27 times (.667) to go along with the 12 goals.
The sophomore has registered hat tricks in three straight games after entering the season with a single-game standard of two tallies. In RMU's home opener against High Point, Sulhoff came off the bench to score a game-high four goals, and registered a shot on goal in each of his six attempts.
Trey Day
Senior faceoff specialist
Trey Arnold has been strong at the X thus far, owning a .562 faceoff percentage on 96 draws. Arnold is averaging 5.00 groundballs per game and surpassed the 200 mark for his career against High Point, making him the fourth player in program history to reach that milestone (
Chris Barney, Mike Grosz,
Jack Toomb). He could become the leader in that category by the end of the season, needing 51 more to surpass Grosz's total of 257.
The Peach State product collected 12 groundballs in the season opener at Canisius, which marked the second time he has matched his career high. He ranks third in the NEC in faceoff percentage and fourth in groundballs after finishing sixth in both of those categories last season.
New in Net
Sophomore goaltender
Grant Koopman earned the first start of his career on Feb. 29 against High Point and didn't disappoint, making 11 saves as the Colonials defeated the Panthers, 15-11. He followed that up with nine saves at Detroit Mercy on Wednesday to earn a second straight victory, and has a .444 save percentage and 12.29 goals against average through 122:03 in 2020.
Koopman is the second different RMU goalie to start a game this season, and the third to make their collegiate debut as the team looks to replace three-time All-NEC goalkeeper
Alex Heger. Junior
Ben Savick made the first three starts of the season and owns a .483 save percentage and 15.50 goals against average, while freshman
Liam Rosenthal has played 56:58 in two games as a reserve.
Leading the Line
The trio of
James Leary,
Evan Hellmich, and
Shaun Vines has been a nightmare for opposing attacks in 2020. The three all rank inside the top six of the NEC in caused turnovers, with the freshman Leary leading the way at 1.80 per game.
Leary, who ranks second on the circuit in caused turnovers, has three games with multiple, highlighted by forcing three against High Point on Feb. 29. Hellmich also has collected multiple in three contests, with a season-best three coming at Detroit Mercy. Like the other two, Vines has a season-high number of three caused turnovers, it achieved against Jacksonville at U.S. Lacrosse Headquarters.
New Format, Same Expectations
Coming off back-to-back NEC Tournament championships, Robert Morris was selected to finish on the top of the NEC West Division by receiving six of nine possible first-place votes. The conference split into two divisions with the additions of Long Island, Merrimack, and NJIT, and five teams qualify for the postseason with the fourth and fifth seeds competing in a play-in contest.
The Colonials were unanimously projected to capture the NEC crown prior to last season, and lived up to that notion in the end after punching their ticket to the league tournament on the final day of the regular season. RMU has gone 4-2 in the NEC in four straight campaigns, making the NEC Tournament in each of them.
Can We Get (Another) Encore?
RMU will lean on the leadership of eight seniors this season in hopes of joining Bryant (2012-15) as the only programs to win three consecutive NEC Tournament titles. The group of fourth-years (
Trey Arnold,
Alex Cash,
Ciaron Costello,
Brad McCulley,
Austin Popovich,
Chris Reynolds,
James Scane,
Ryan Smith) have gone 34-22 (.607) overall and 12-6 (.667) in league play in their careers, also achieving the program's single-season win mark (13, 2018) and first postseason win (2018 NCAA Tournament at Canisius).
Entering 2020 with 31 wins, only six other classes have collected more than that over a four-year span, highlighted by the 39 victories the 2012 seniors recorded. That group went 9-7 in 2009 to achieve the program's first winning season and posted a pair of 10-win campaigns in 2010 (10) and 2012 (11), the latter season ending with the Colonials' first NEC regular-season title.
New to RMU
The Colonials will look to receive production from a 17-player newcomer class consisting of 13 freshmen and four transfers. The class is represented from eight different states or Canadian provinces (California, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania), with Maryland, Ohio, and Pennsylvania featuring four newcomers each.
Entering their first seasons of collegiate lacrosse are
Trevor Barrett,
Luke Hallman,
Zach Hamilton,
Bryce Henise,
Elliot Holden,
Brandon Infante,
James Leary,
Blake Lori,
Brady Ludewig,
Matt McShea,
Torin Neal,
Liam Rosenthal, and
Ben Starkey.
Shaun Vines and
Eli Doyle arrive as juniors from Harford Community College,
Johnny Chaisson is a sophomore transfer from Howard Community College, and
Ben Savick played his first two seasons at NCAA Division II program Palm Beach Atlantic University.
From Bobby Mo to Pro
Robert Morris has the highest representation of any college or university in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) this season, with 11 former Colonials playing for 10 different teams. RMU edges out notable schools such as Ohio State (9), Syracuse (8), Drexel (6), and Canisius (6) for the honor.
Kevin Brownell (Buffalo Bandits), Kyle Buchanan (San Diego Seals),
Tyler Digby (Colorado Mammoth),
Tyson Gibson (New York Riptide), JonPatrik Kealey (Rochester Knighthawks),
Luc Magnan (Halifax Thunderbirds), Kiel Matisz (Philadelphia Wings),
James Rahe (Vancouver Warriors),
Justin Robinson (Saskatchewan Rush),
Jacob Ruest (Colorado Mammoth), and
Mitch Wilde (Calgary Roughnecks) make up the Colonial contingent in the NLL.
On Sept. 17, 2019,
Tyson Gibson was selected by the expansion franchise New York Riptide with the first overall selection in the NLL Entry Draft. Gibson became the fifth RMU player ever to be chosen in the first round, and topped Kiel Matisz (1st round, 3rd overall in 2012) as the earliest pick in program history.
Additionally, just on Wednesday, 2019 alumni
Alex Heger and
Matt Schmidt were selected in the 2020 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Supplemental Draft by the reigning champion Chesapeake Bayhawks. Schmidt becomes the 26th former Colonial to be selected in a MLL or NLL draft, while Heger was previously picked by the Ohio Machine in the 2019 MLL Collegiate Draft.
Coming Up
Robert Morris begins a three-game home stand as well as NEC play on Saturday, March 14 at 2:00 p.m. when it hosts Hobart in a rematch of last year's NEC Championship Game. The Colonials and Statesmen were tabbed as favorites in their respective divisions.
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