PITTSBURGH, Pa.— The 2021 MAC Champion Robert Morris University women's lacrosse team will take part in its first ever NCAA Tournament Friday when they travel to Notre Dame, Indiana for a first-round meeting with the #6 Notre Dame Fightin' Irish.

COLONIAL WLAX PREVIEW

ROBERT MORRIS (14-2-0, 10-0 MAC)

VS #6 NOTRE DAME (9-6, 5-5 ACC)

Friday, May 14 at 1:00 p.m. EST

Notre Dame, Indiana. 

LIVE STATS via Sidearm

LIVE STREAM via ACC Extra

LAST TIME OUT

The Colonials ran the table in their first ever season as members of the MAC, taking down Detroit Mercy 21-5 in their regular season finale to end the year a perfect 10-0 in conference play. 

Emilie Kim, Clio Kerr and Julia Koterwas each posted hat tricks in the win for RMU.  

OPPOSITION RESEARCH

Notre Dame and Robert Morris squared off once already this season, a 16-2 Irish win in Notre Dame back on March 6.  

Despite the result, a ton has changed since that first matchup.  The Colonials are 11-1 since that initial meeting, while Notre Dame is coming off of a 18-4 loss in the ACC semis to North Carolina.  Senior attack Maddie Howe led ND with four goals and six points in their prior matchup this year. 

KNOW BOBBY MO

• RMU improved to 10-0 in MAC play with a win over Detroit Mercy after securing their first ever Conference Championship earlier this season.  
• RMU's 14 wins this year set a single-season program record. 
• Robert Morris will appear in their first ever NCAA Tournament Friday against the Irish.  
• RMU lost to ND in their prior meeting this season, 16-2.
• The Colonials also went undefeated in conference play for the first time ever in 2021.
• The Colonials lead the NCAA in ground balls per-game (26.12), rank second in caused turnovers per-game (12.88) and third in assists per-game (9.00). 
• RMU's 23 goals scored against twice this year was the second highest single-game total in program history, just one behind the record of 24 set against Howard on February 28, 2015.
• Robert Morris has won its last 17 home games, a streak that dates back to February of the 2019 campaign.  
• 144 of RMU's 250 goals this season have been assisted.  Melanie Gandy leads all Colonials with 39 helpers. 
• Graduate attack Mackenzie Gandy passed Ashley Levering '09 earlier this season for first place on the all-time scoring list with 180 career points. She became the program's all-time leading goal scorer earlier this season with career goal #129.
• Twin sister Melanie Gandy became the program's all-time assist leader earlier this year with five helpers against CMU and is also now second on the program all-time scoring list with 201 points, behind only Mackenzie. She also became the first Colonial to hit the century mark in assists against YSU.
• Defender Kelly Colegrove became the all-time leader in caused turnovers in program history with 134 against YSU.
• Mackenzie Gandy earned back-to-back OPOW honors two weeks ago week, while Colleen Tifft took home her first DPOW win. The pair join Melanie Gandy, Jordan Anderson, Clio Kerr, Shea McArdle  and Kelly Colegrove who have also earned individual awards this season.  
• Kerr became the 16th player in program history to record 100 career points after her performance against YSU Saturday. Jordan Anderson became just the second player in program history to rack up at least 100 draws in a single season with a seven-draw game against DM.
• Several RMU freshmen have already scored their first career NCAA tallies this season. Olivia Rupert scored against Liberty while Kathleen Kelly and Isabelle Robarge netted their firsts against Gardner-Webb.  Gianna Anthony scored her first against the Zips, while Lilli Hadden scored her first two against Kent State. Mackenzie Bell and Julia Davies finally found the back of the net against KSU.
• RMU was picked to finish second in the MAC in the preseason coaches' poll, earning two first-place votes. Central Michigan took the top spot with four first-place votes, with Kent State coming in third. 
• Goalie Katelyn Miller has started every game for the Colonials since arriving on campus four years ago, a remarkable streak of 74 in a row. Junior Jamie Keller has also seen significant minutes in relief this season, including playing 50 of 60 minutes vs. Butler in a ten-save performance.  
• The Colonials boast an expanded squad in 2021 that includes six graduate students, seven total seniors, six juniors, five sophomores and twelve freshmen.  
• Robert Morris welcomes back six graduate students for their last go-around with the program, a class which includes their three top scorers in Mackenzie Gandy, Melanie Gandy and R-Sr. Clio Kerr.  Ground ball leaders Madison Burke and Kelly Colegrove also make their return, as do free-position goals leaders Thalia Zolis and Shea McArdle. 
• For a full list of all-time team records and stats, click here.

THE SILVA FILE

Entering her fourth season at the helm of the Colonials, Katrina Silva brings 14 years of Division I head coaching experience to the table. Before taking over the program in 2018, Silva served as an RMU assistant coach for five years and a volunteer assistant for one.

Previous to her time in Moon Township, Silva led the lacrosse programs at Virginia Tech (four years) and Colgate (seven), in addition to Division III Roanoke College. A goalie in her playing days, she was the 1993 Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year for Towson.

Silva will be joined by the returning Cacki Helmer and Chelsea Rosiek. 

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