Durham, N.C. – The Robert Morris University men's lacrosse team carried a 5-2 lead into the second quarter this afternoon against No. 1 Duke, but the Blue Devils scored eight unanswered goals between the first and third frames to eventually defeat the Colonials, 16-12, from Koskinen Stadium. RMU falls to 0-1 with the defeat, while Duke moves to 2-0.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Colonials had the lacrosse world on notice early, opening up a 5-2 first-quarter lead after scoring the game's first four goals. Duke responded with eight straight tallies to make it 9-5 with 9:40 remaining in the third quarter, but RMU hung around and pulled within two at 9-7 with a Ryan Smith goal and at 10-8 with a Jake Boudreau tally just 1:01 into the final stanza. That would be as close as the visitors would get however, as the Blue Devils used a 6-2 burst a 10-minute stretch to seal the victory.
FIRST QUARTER BLITZ
RMU's opening surge came from a variety of different sources and different ways. The Colonials first struck on the man-up as Jimmy Perkins found Boudreau, then Ryan Smith buried a Corson Kealey feed running free down the middle. Austin Popovich followed that up by scooping up a loose ball and firing at the 9:34 mark, then six seconds later Steven DelleMonache won a faceoff and set up Kealey, who buried it on the doorstep to make it 4-0.
OH CAPTAINS, MY CAPTAINS
Leading the Colonial offense were co-captains Corson Kealey and Ryan Smith. Kealey, a senior from Ottawa, Ontario, netted a game-high five points on four goals and a helper, and is now four points shy of eclipsing 100 for his career. Smith, a graduate student from Burlington, Ontario, posted the 17th hat trick of his career with three tallies and an assist. He now has 150 points for his career, and is three goals shy of both hitting the century mark and moving into fifth all-time at RMU in that category.
BIG BEN
Senior goalkeeper Ben Savick earned the opening day start in net for the second straight season, and tied his RMU high with 15 saves – eight coming in the first half. The transfer from NCAA Division II Palm Beach Atlantic started three of the Colonials' six contests last season, posting a .483 save percentage and 15.50 goals against average.
LIGHT THE LAMP
The Colonials had five different goal scorers and nine different players register a point against the Blue Devils. In addition to Kealey and Smith's hat tricks, graduate Austin Popovich and senior Jake Boudreau collected two goals each, and sophomore midfielder Elliot Holden ripped the net in the fourth quarter. Seven different players recorded an assist for RMU, including sophomore Blake Lori, senior Alex Funk, freshman Steven DelleMonache, and seventh-year graduate Jimmy Perkins.
THE OPPONENT
Duke saw Cameron Badour and Nakeie Montgomery post hat tricks, while Michael Sowers dished out three assists. Jake Naso scooped up a game-high nine groundballs for the Blue Devils, and Mike Adler made 11 saves after replacing Turner Uppgren in goal midway through the first quarter.
NEXT UP
RMU's three-game season-starting road swing continues Saturday, Feb. 13 at noon when the Colonials travel to High Point.
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