PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Robert Morris University women's lacrosse team improved to a perfect 3-0 on the season Sunday afternoon against Gardner-Webb, taking down the Runnin' Bulldogs 12-9 at Joe Walton Stadium.
The victory extends RMU's home win streak to 12 games.
It took some time for the Colonials to find their footing offensively Sunday against the Running Bulldogs.
After a quick goal by GW's Eilish Gately near the 27:00 mark, the Bulldog defense did well to stymie the Colonials attack and prevent them from working into the fan with possession, causing several turnovers as RMU was forced to wade through a maze of stick checks.
"I think really it was more of an issue with us," head coach Katrina Silva said. "We weren't following the game plan. We had talked about what their zone looks like and didn't make any adjustments, but you've got to love this team, they played hard and kept fighting and that showed through in what was not our prettiest game."
Jordan Anderson finally managed to get the Colonials on the board near the midway mark of the first, getting loose behind the GWU defense after a long lead pass from Julia Koterwas and making a run before burying her third of the year to make it 2-1.
Mackenzie Gandy netted her ninth of the season minutes later to even things up at 2-2 as RMU got going on offense.
A 3-1 run to end the half for the Runnin' Bulldogs including two more goals for Talen Francis put RMU in the hole 6-3 after thirty minutes of play, but as has been the case so often throughout their careers, the Gandy twins combined to pull RMU even with the Bulldogs in the second.
Mackenzie's second of the game energized an RMU attack who slowly but surely began to spend more time in their attacking third of the field despite Gardner-Webb ratcheting up the physicality on defense, helped in large part by a 20-15 turnover advantage for RMU in the second.
"We started to get a lot of positive turnovers, and that's something that's sort of been missing the last two games for us. Now we start making easy turnovers which lead to quick goals and that swings the momentum back on our side," Silva said.
Aggressive defending from GWU continued to provide the Colonials with free-position opportunities, aiding in RMU's comeback effort as Mackenzie Gandy buried two more FP goals to complete the hat trick and pull RMU even at 7-7.
Melanie Gandy, Clio Kerr and Kelley Flynn combined to scoop 20 ground balls for RMU, including a decisive 29-16 advantage in the second half as the Colonials kept control of possession and dictate the game on their terms.
The hat trick from Mackenzie was part of run of eight straight goals for RMU, including a beautiful passing sequence between the Gandy twins finished off by Melanie to set RMU up with a 9-7 lead heading into the game's final ten minutes.
Mackenzie would make it six goals for her second consecutive double hat trick before the game was out to lock up the win and keep RMU perfect on the season.
"When we do the things we ask them to do, we're really successful," Silva said. "I think you started to see that towards the end as well but we still have a little ways to go."
