High Point, N.C. – The Robert Morris University men's lacrosse team was undone by a pair of seven-goal frames, as High Point used a 7-3 first quarter and 7-2 third quarter to defeat the Colonials, 21-15, this afternoon from Vert Stadium. RMU falls to 0-2 with the defeat, while the Panthers move to 1-0 on the season.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The opening 15 minutes featured a ton of offensive fireworks; unfortunately for visiting RMU, High Point was on the right end of the 10-goal frame. Ryan Smith's first of four tallies knotted the game at 1-1 with 11:56 remaining in the quarter, then the Panthers responded with three straight goals to make it 4-1 midway through the stanza. Smith scored on the man-up with 4:40 on the clock, and Jimmy Perkins added a goal eight seconds later to trim the deficit to 4-3, but HPU rattled off a 4-0 run into the second quarter to take an 8-3 advantage.
KEEP IT 100
Graduate student attack Ryan Smith paced the Colonials this afternoon with six points on four goals and two assists. Smith's four-goal day pushed him over the century mark for his career, making him just the fifth player in program history to reach 100 goals in a RMU uniform. The Burlington, Ontario product posted his 18th career hat trick in the defeat, and now ranks fourth in program history in goals (101) and points per game (2.69), fifth in assists (55), and sixth in points (156).
NEVER GROW UP
Seventh-year attack Jimmy Perkins helped shoulder the scoring load with his 16th career hat trick and eighth in a RMU uniform. Perkins finished with four goals on the afternoon, two coming in the second quarter. He now has 84 career points with the Colonials on 42 goals and 42 assists, and has 136 points (84g, 52a) between RMU and his two-year run at Utah. The Pittsburgh native sits fourth in program history in assists per game (1.17), and shares the 10th spot with Luke Lazskiewicz for total assists.
SHOULDERING THE LOAD
RMU saw seven different players rip the back of the net, including Smith and Perkins' four-goal efforts. Senior Jake Boudreau and sophomore Elliot Holden both scored twice from the midfield spots, while senior midfielder Alex Funk, senior attack Corson Kealey, and sophomore midfielder Blake Lori all added a goal each. Both Funk and Lori's tallies were their first of the season, and Funk's goal came on the man-up as the Colonials finished 3-of-8 on the day with the man advantage.
HIGH HONORS
Sophomore long-stick midfielder James Leary paced the visitors with five groundballs this afternoon and now has a team-leading eight in the early season. A trio of Colonials caused a team-high two turnovers each, as Lori, junior defender Josh Schreibeis, and senior defender Shaun Vines collected six of the Colonials' 13 on the day. Freshman faceoff specialist Steven DelleMonache was 13-of-28 at the X.
THE PENDULUM KEEPS SWINGING
Today's meeting between RMU and High Point marked the seventh consecutive season that the two teams have faced off. The Panthers' victory gave them a 4-3 lead in the all-time series, with three of their wins coming on their home turf. The Colonials had previously won three of the previous four meetings, gaining a road triumph in 2017 (9-7), and home victories in 2018 (16-11) and 2020 (15-11).
THE OPPONENT
Asher Nolting paced High Point in its season opener with seven points on a hat trick and four assists. Kevin Rogers added six points (4g, 2a), while Dalton Sulver (4g), Brayden Mayea (3g), and Devon Buckshot (3g) al posted hat tricks. Clayton Krol forced a game-high four turnovers for the hosts, while Davis Sampere tallied eight groundballs and won nine faceoffs.
NEXT UP
RMU continues its season-opening road swing by traveling across the Keystone State to take on Bucknell on Saturday, Feb. 20. Opening faceoff is set for noon.
Follow The Colonials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
