Syracuse, N.Y. – The Robert Morris University men's lacrosse team closed its 2021 season with a 21-14 loss to No. 9/10 Syracuse this afternoon from the Carrier Dome. RMU finishes the year with a 7-6 (.538) record, while the Orange enter the postseason with a 7-5 (.583) mark.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
RMU and Syracuse combined for 14 goals in the first quarter, with the Orange owning a 9-5 lead after 15 minutes. Jake Boudreau tied the game at 1-1 with a fastbreak goal at 10:54, but Owen Hiltz and Owen Seebold restored the hosts' advantage over the next two minutes. Elliot Holden stopped the bleeding with an unassisted tally, then Ryan Smith struck on a man-up opportunity to tie it at 3-3. Syracuse would get another goal from Hiltz at 7:03 and never trailed from there, with RMU only managing to pull within two twice more in the first quarter.
ONE MORE RYAN RECORD
Graduate attack Ryan Smith added one more record to his resume, securing his status as one of the best players to ever suit up for RMU. Smith scored seven goals against the Orange – five coming in the first half – and in the process established a new single-season standard for points with 71. The Burlington, Ontario native topped Luke Laszkiewicz's 2016 tally of 70 in two fewer games, reaching that number with 48 goals and 23 assists. Smith completes his career owning the program records in career points (217), goals (142), and games played (69), single-season points, points per game (5.46), and goals per game (3.69), and single-game points (11), goals (8), and assists (6).
JIMBO SLICE
Graduate attack Jimmy Perkins also completed his career this afternoon, after entering the season as one of two seventh-year student-athletes in NCAA Division I men's lacrosse. Perkins tallied three points (2g, 1a) offensively versus the Orange, and added four groundballs and a caused turnover on defense. The Pittsburgh product recorded 123 (66g, 57a) points in 47 games with the Colonials, and totaled 175 points (108g, 67a) when tacking on his 18 appearances with Utah from 2019-20. He ranks third all-time at RMU in assists per game (1.21), and sixth in assists and points per game (2.62).
ROAD WARRIORS
RMU's 2021 season will be remembered as one of its most unique. Playing as an independent before they move to the ASUN Conference in 2022, the Colonials' 13-game slate was made up of 11 games away from Moon Township and 10 true road contests. The 10 road games are tied for the second most in program history, matching the 2019 team while coming one shy of the 2018 squad. However, both of those groups played 17 or more games compared to the 2021 team's 13, thanks to their Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament championship runs and subsequent appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
BRAMPTON'S VERY OWN
Senior midfielder Jake Boudreau – who plans to return for the 2022 season – finished with five points (1g, 4a) this afternoon, highlighted by a full-field connection with Ryan Smith that ended in the latter's buzzer-beating fifth goal to end the first half. Boudreau added a groundball to finish the season with a team-leading 58, which is the seventh most in single-season school history. The Brampton, Ontario native will begin the next campaign three groundballs and 14 points shy of the century mark in both categories, which put him alongside Smith as the only Colonials to record 100 points and groundballs.
COLONIAL NOTABLES
Corson Kealey scored twice for RMU, registering his sixth multi-goal effort of the season in nine appearances …
Elliot Holden and
Will Johansen also scored a goal, while
Brandon Sulhoff and
Dan Taddeo netted an assist each …
James Leary led the Colonials with five groundballs and three caused turnovers, and also won both of his faceoffs …
Ben Savick made the start in net for the visitors and made 20 saves, which is tied for the fifth most stops in RMU single-game history.
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