MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - The Robert Morris University women's lacrosse team improved to 3-0 in MAC play and 7-2 on the season with a 12-7 win over Central Michigan Saturday afternoon.
Graduates Melanie Gandy and Mackenzie Gandy each scored four goals while senior Kelley Flynn added a hat trick as RMU takes over first place overall in the MAC standings.
"Our kids battled today," head coach Katrina Silva said. "They played with passion, they demonstrate love for each other and it's really a great group of women to work with. We were down a little bit in our midfield unit going into today, but there was a lot of different people that stepped up today which was big for us and obviously great to see."
The Colonials enjoyed a three-goal cushion after thirty minutes thanks in large part to a first-half hat trick from Melanie Gandy.
After somewhat of a slow start for RMU, the Chippewas managed to strike first just under seven minutes in, going up 1-0 after Maggie Diebold weaved her way through the RMU defense in transition to give CMU an early lead.
They managed to hold onto the lead for nearly six minutes despite quality looks from Kelsey Nelson and Colleen Tifft until Mackenzie Gandy finally got RMU on the board at 18:28, beating CMU keeper Sierra Savage for her team-leading 22nd of the season and touching off a 4-0 run for the Colonials.
Jordan Anderson won the ensuing draw control and shortly thereafter Gianna Anthony put the Colonials ahead 2-1, capping off a bout of extended pressure for the RMU attack.
An almost identical sequence followed Anthony's goal, as Anderson again won the draw and the Colonials quickly worked their way downfield before Melanie Gandy potted her first of the day, giving RMU its third goal in 1:47.
"She was huge, those draws were such a big momentum shift for us," Silva said. "Our midfield unit in particular was really challenged today, but they stepped up when we needed them to. You saw a lot of people sort of step up and make great plays all-around."
Gandy picked up her second to make it four goals in 2:32 before CMU was finally able to stop the bleeding, cutting it back to a 4-2 game courtesy of Courtney Burke.
Following more pressure, Melanie finally completed the hat trick near the 10-minute mark of the first before a second from Mackenzie gave the twins five of RMU's six first-half goals and the lead after 30 minutes.
The Chippewas showcased some quick-strike ability of their own, cutting it down to just one goal for RMU after Tyra Pryce scored twice in the opening two minutes of the second, setting up a back-and-forth second half as RMU attempted to keep a CMU comeback at bay.
After Thalia Zolis was denied by Savage, a ground ball from Melanie Gandy allowed RMU to maintain posession before the graduate student beat the CMU keeper for a fourth time to make it 7-5.
CMU continued to hang around, cutting it back to 7-6 at 23:01, however Kelley Flynn scored her first of the day after a nice save from Katelyn Miller in net led to a quick transition and a clear for the Colonials soon after.
RMU would close things out on a 5-1 run as Flynn and Mackenzie Gandy each scored twice more to keep RMU undefeated in conference place.
Anderson finished with ten draw controls on the afternoon, tying a career-high, while Madison Burke and Kelly Colegrove each scooped five ground balls and Colegrove caused three turnovers.
"We need to have fun when we play lacrosse, that's when we play our best," Silva said. "We need to play with the way we show passion and pride for each other, and they did all those things today. We're a team, truly a team."
