Moon Township, Pa. – Despite a late comeback by the Royals, the Robert Morris women's lacrosse team captured an 11-10 victory over Queens on Saturday morning at Joe Walton Stadium.

With the win, the Colonials improve to 2-5 overall this season while winning the first-ever meeting between these two squads. Meanwhile, the Royals have their four-game win streak snapped, falling to 4-4 this season.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
It was a hot start for Robert Morris as they jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the opening five minutes. Senior Jordan Anderson opened the scoring, taking a feed from junior Lilli Hadden and finding the back of the net. Less than two minutes later, Hadden converted a free position shot to stretch the RMU lead, 2-0. Queens would get on the board at the 9:52 mark before Hadden netted a women-up goal on an assist from sophomore Jenna Irwin. The Royals responded with a free position score before Irwin and junior Gia Anthony tallied free position opportunities to give the Colonials a 5-2 lead after the opening frame. It was a sluggish start to the second quarter until Queens rattled off three consecutive goals to knot the score at 5-5 with 3:52 remaining in the half. Just 52 seconds later, the duo of Irwin and Hadden connected again as Irwin netted her second goal of the half to give RMU a 6-5 advantage at the break.

In the second half, the Colonials opened the third quarter by scoring three straight goals, boasting them to a 9-5 lead. Senior Colleen Tifft found a cutting Hadden, who beat goalkeeper Sharn Muffett to complete her hat trick. At the 11:11 mark, Irwin would take a feed from graduate student Kelsey Nelson and find the back of the net for the hat trick. The two squads would go eight minutes without score before sophomore Chelsea Coleman netted her team leading 13th goal of the season. 14 seconds later, the Royals trimmed the Colonials lead with a free position opportunity before Tifft found the back of the net for the unassisted goal. Queens would net another score as the RMU held a 10-7 advantage heading to the final frame. After a yellow card was issued to the Royals, Irwin took advantage of the opportunity and converted the free position score.

THE STOP
After Irwin gave the Colonials an 11-7 lead, Queens didn't go down without a fight. The Royals netted three consecutive goals in a five-minute span to trail by one, with 1:13 remaining in regulation. With one-minute remaining in the game, RMU was issued a green card, forcing them to play a women-down for the remaining time. After a successful clear by Queens, the RMU defense stiffened, forcing the Royals into a turnover and running out the remaining seconds.

TAG-TEAM
A pair of Colonials each enjoyed prolific days, led by sophomore Jenna Irwin and junior Lilli Hadden. Both ended the afternoon with five points apiece, with Irwin leading the charge with a season-high four goals and one assist. It's the fourth time in her career where she scored four or more goals and the sixth time in her career where she's recorded a hat trick. Irwin ended the contest with seven shots, all of them coming on goal while converting both of her free position opportunities. Hadden relished a career day for RMU, recording a career-high in points and goals. She finished the contest with five points while carding her first career hat trick. Hadden ended the game with six shots, all being on goal and converted her free position shot. The duet combined for 10 points, seven goals, three assists, and 13 shots in the win.

BETWEEN THE PIPES
Graduate student goalkeeper Jamie Keller registered her best save percentage of the season during the win. She recorded a .524 average while collecting 11 saves on 29 shots faced. It's the 10th time in her career where she has recorded double-digit saves. Queens peppered Keller for a majority of the day, placing 21 shots on goal. The Royals fired 15 shots in the first half, 11 of them coming on goal as Keller collected six saves in the first 30 minutes. The Peters Township product now sits fifth in the conference with 53 total saves while averaging just under eight a game.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Six different Colonials found the back of the net, led by Irwin and Hadden. Colleen Tifft registered two points after collecting a goal and an assist while causing two turnovers and three draw controls. She has now tallied an assist in six of seven games for RMU. Jordan Anderson scored her second goal of the season while collecting six draw controls and forcing two turnovers. Chelsea Colman found the back of the net to keep her scoring streak alive and grabbed a career-high six ground balls and caused a pair of turnovers. Gia Anthony finished with her fourth goal of the campaign, while Kelsey Nelson finished with an assist, a career-high six ground balls, and caused three turnovers.

UP NEXT
RMU returns to action on Sunday, March 26, when they host UC Davis for a non-conference match, beginning at 12:00 p.m. at Joe Walton Stadium.

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