Milwaukee, Wisc. – Deadlocked at 10-10 in the closing stages, Robert Morris University men's lacrosse senior midfielder Brad McCulley ripped the nylon with 4.7 seconds remaining to lift the Colonials past Marquette, 11-10, this afternoon in non-conference action from Valley Fields.
Robert Morris (4-2, 0-0 NEC) trailed by one after a Marquette (3-3, 0-0 BIG EAST) tally with 4:00 to go, but Austin Popovich knotted it at 10-all at the 2:24 mark. The Colonials then held strong defensively after a turnover on the faceoff, and set the stage for McCulley following a successful clear attempt with 36 seconds to play.
Popovich continued his stellar start to his senior season, leading the way with five points (2g, 3a). McCulley's game-winning score gave him the first hat trick of his collegiate career, and was joined by Jake Boudreau (2g, 1a), Elliot Holden (2g, 1a), and Ryan Smith (2g, 1a) with three points each.
On the defensive end, freshman James Leary shined once again with a game-high eight groundballs and three caused turnovers. Trey Arnold went 15-of-23 at the X, and Grant Koopman remained unbeaten as a starter, making seven saves over the 60 minutes.
Boudreau got it started with an unassisted goal just 1:44 into the contest, but the Golden Eagles answered with two over a span of 2:12 to take their first lead. The teams then traded the next four goals before RMU ripped off a 3-0 run to make it 6-4, thanks to tallies by McCulley, Smith, and Holden.
Marquette had a 3-0 surge of its own in the third quarter, retaking the lead at 7-6. However on the next faceoff, another Boudreau goal tied it, then Smith buried a Popovich feed with seven seconds left in the frame to give the Colonials an 8-7 advantage.
A minute after the hosts got a Holden Patterson goal to create another stalemate, McCulley finished a pass from Popovich to push RMU back in front, 9-8. That score held until the 5:17 mark, when Ryan Fazio and Peter Henkhaus both ripped the net over a span of 1:17 to give the Golden Eagles a 10-9 lead.
Marquette won the ensuing faceoff, but Smith caused a turnover right away to swing possession back to the Colonials. RMU worked through its offense before freeing up Popovich to take a rip, which he buried with 2:24 to play to tie it at 10-10. The Colonials defense held off three shot attempts before winning back possession, then moved the ball back towards their bench before calling timeout with 32 seconds left.
Out of the break, RMU held the ball behind the Golden Eagles goal to work the clock, then got it to McCulley to provide the heroics. Shaun Vines sealed the win by scooping up the following faceoff, eliminating any chance of a Golden Eagles miracle.
Ryan Smith moved up to sixth in program history in points (146), surpassing Patrick Smith (2007-11). The senior attackman now is also tied with Kiel Matisz (2009-12) for sixth in goals (94), and occupies sixth in assists (52).
Arnold is now third all-time in groundballs with 214, six shy of tying Chris Barney (2012-16) and 44 away from breaking the school record set by Mike Grosz (257, 2009-12).
Popovich is up to 27 points (18g, 9a) this season after recording a total of 30 over his first three years.
Koopman joins Dillon Pope (2009-13) and Charles Ruppert (2009-13) as the only Colonial goaltenders to win their first three starts.
Robert Morris returns home for a three-game set at Joe Walton Stadium, starting with a rematch of last season's Northeast Conference (NEC) Championship Game. The Colonials take on Hobart at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 14 in a battle between the preseason favorites in the NEC East and West divisions.
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