Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University men's soccer team opens the 2022 Horizon League Tournament with a quarterfinal match at Oakland on Sunday afternoon.

#5 Robert Morris (6-7-2, 4-3-2 Horizon League at #4 Oakland (4-9-4, 4-2-3 Horizon League)
Sunday, November 6, at 1:00 p.m. in Rochester, Michigan.
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LAST TIME OUT
For the second-straight season, Robert Morris clinched a spot in the conference tournament and did it in dominating fashion, defeating IUPUI 5-0 on Senior Day at the North Athletic Complex.

Robert Morris broke the scoring drought in the 38th minute when Shane McMillan put a header to the right side of the net off a corner kick from Connor Hain, 1-0. Just before the half, the Colonials stretched their lead when Owen Jowett corralled a pass inside the box and set up Evan Lamarca who found the back of the net. After a Jaguar foul occurred in the box, Chase Gilley executed the penalty kick to extend the RMU lead, 3-0.

Five minutes later Bryan Akongo dribbled down the left side of the field, getting into the box and putting a pass to the far-right post that found the left foot of Victor Koah, 4-0. McMillan carded his second goal of the afternoon after Darren Gray put a cross to the center of the box and McMillan found the top left corner of the net. 

PLAYOFF LOOK
Cleveland State earned the regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the Horizon League Tournament. The Vikings and Wright State, who clinched the No. 2 seed, will receive byes in the first round. IUPUI received the No 3 seed, while Oakland is the No. 4, both of which will host the quarterfinal games this Sunday. Robert Morris was tabbed the No. 5 seed and will travel to Oakland, while No. 6 seed Detroit Mercy will travel to face IUPUI.

HORIZON LEAGUE ACCOLADES
A trio of Colonials were honored by the conference on Friday afternoon led by junior Kelvin Ramirez and Akongo who were selected to the #HLMSOC All-League Second Team. Koah was the other recipient as he was tabbed to the All-Freshman Team. The three honorees are the most for Robert Morris since 2018, when it saw three players recognized by the Northeast Conference (NEC).

TEAM LEADERS
After executing his second penalty kick of the season, Gilley continues to pace the Colonials in points and goals. He's registered 14 points and carded six goals and two assists, while starting in every game this season. His 14 points are tied for eighth in the conference, while sitting tied for fifth with six goals.

Hugo Kadima sits second on the team with eight points after registering three goals and two assists this fall. Koah is third on the team after tallying two goals and two assists for a total of six points. Kadima and Koah have appeared in all 15 games for the Colonials this season. McMillan has been a spark for Robert Morris off the bench as he has totaled five points in 13 appearances, while Gray leads the team with three assists this year.

Friedrich Petrelli has started in every game in goal for the Colonials and has collected 32 saves on 136 shots faced. He's posted the second-best goals against average at 1.16 and has given up the second least amount of goals this season. Petrelli has registered a .653 save percentage, while being one of only three keepers in the league to post five clean sheets.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
Oakland was tabbed the No. 4 seed after ending the regular season with a 4-2-3 record in conference play and hosting the quarterfinals match. The Golden Grizzlies ended the year with a 4-1 victory over Northern Kentucky.

This will be the second meeting between these two teams this fall as Oakland captured a 2-1 victory over the Colonials in September. The Golden Grizzlies got on the board first in the 12th minute before Akongo found the back of the net at the 44:35 mark to knot the score, 1-1. Oakland netted the game-winner in the 64th minute to secure the win.

Oakland captured three Horizon League honorees, led by Ville Ahola and Reid Sproat who were selected to the All-League First Team. Michael Sly Jr. capped off the honorees by being selected to the All-Freshman Team. Dawsum Schrum paces the Golden Grizzlies with 10 points after carding four assists and three goals. Owen Smith sits second with nine points, tallying three goals and three assists.

QUOTABLE
"We are excited to play in the Horizon League quarterfinals vs Oakland," head coach Jason O'Keefe said. "The team is continuing to grow and we are thrilled to get more experiences with postseason play."

UP NEXT
The winner will move on to the semifinal round and face top seeded and host Cleveland State on Thursday, November 10, at 1:00 p.m.
 
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