Moon Township, Pa. – At the Joe, RMU takes down Bellarmine, 21-13. RMU men's lacrosse is now 5-6 overall and 2-4 in conference play. Bellarmine, overall is 8-4 and currently 3-3 in ASUN action.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Determined to earn another victory in the ASUN, the Colonials offense bolstered play not only in the first quarter but throughout all 60 minutes. Junior
Liam Keane sounded off the goal song in the opening three minutes for RMU, scoring his tenth of the season. Bellarmine quickly countered on their second possession after the home side's first goal. The next time the Colonials entered the offensive zone,
Eric Swagerty boosted RMU ahead 2-1. Bellarmine tied it up 2-2. After that, Associate Head Coach
Adrian Torok-Orban and his offensive playbook went to work, scoring four unanswered goals. The Colonials stayed ahead 7-3 after the first quarter.
In quarter number two,
Steven DelleMonache won the first face-off. The Colonials peppered five shots wide and/or blocked, but couldn't find the back of the net. Bellarmine answered after their clear to make it 7-4. Following the Knights goal, the Colonials outscored the visitors 5-3 in the second period. RMU's offense generously all pitched in, as five different players scored. After 30 minutes of play, RMU doubled up on Bellarmine, 12-6.
The third quarter would be the only time Bellarmine outscored RMU. In a low-scoring start to the second half, the Knights shot in three goals and the Colonials gathered two more of their own.
Eric Swagerty scored and with four seconds remaining in the third,
Taggart Clark notched in his 22
nd of the year. RMU comfortably remained out front, 14-10.
Captains
Will Johansen and
Taggart Clark extended the lead, as both players scored in the opening four minutes of the fourth quarter, making it 16-10. Similar to the second quarter, all players were involved as there were seven different scorers in the final frame. RMU put seven past Bellarmine and the away team posted three more tallies. In the end, RMU pulled away with the victory, winning 21-13.
GOAL OF THE YEAR
In the second quarter, sophomore
David Burr scored one of the best goals of the season, sniping a shot from distance from behind his back. After a pass from attacker
Taggart Clark, Burr looked to make a pass, fooling the opposition. Instead, Burr caught the goalkeeper off guard and ripped one top shelf for his 18
th of the season.
Check out Burr's goal here on Twitter...
COLONIAL FIRSTS
For the final three goals of the game by RMU, three different Colonials tallied their first goal or assist of the season. Defenseman
Owen Down entered the attacking zone after clearing the area himself, and sniped in his first goal of the season. This was Down's second goal in his career. A minute later freshman
Ryan Stiefel recorded his first career goal and point. With 50 seconds left in the game, sophomore
Bobby Reaume assisted
Torin Neal, registering his first assist and point for RMU.
FACE-OFF DOMINATION
Junior
Steven DelleMonache performed his best day in the face-off circle as a Colonial. At 5-9, the feisty face-off specialist won 22 face-offs on 33 draws against three different Bellarmine players. Not only did he win draws, he also scooped up 12 ground balls after winning possession in midfield. DelleMonache's 22 face-off wins and 12 ground balls are both career-highs. The New Jersey native also recorded his first assist of the season on
Liam Keane's goal in the second quarter. DelleMonache won the draw and the ground ball, ran to the net, and set up Keane to double RMU's lead at that point, 8-4. In the 2023 campaign, he's now won 116 face-offs and owns a .500-win percentage.
MASS PRODUCTION
16 total players for the Colonials recorded a point in today's game, which is the most in a game for RMU this season. Their 21 goals vs. Bellarmine are also a season-high. Seven of those 16 players paced for three or more points. Leading the team in points was
Taggart Clark, posting two goals and four assists. This is the fifth time in Clark's career he's produced six or more points in a game. His four assists against the Knights are a career-high.
Colton Lidstone dished out three assists and sneaked in a goal past Bellarmine to record his third four-point outing in the past six games. During that six-game stretch, Lidstone has 15 points.
HAT TRICKS
David Burr led the team in shots with 12 and nine on target. Four of them went in and his single assist made him reach five points on the day. Burr's production has come in bunches as he owns five games with four points or more and the second game scoring a double brace. In back-to-back games, captain
Will Johansen posted another hat trick. Last game against Utah was his first career hatty. He finished the day with four points vs. Bellarmine. Junior
Eric Swagerty was all over the net as well, as he produced his second career hat trick today. In all nine games he's played this season, junior
Liam Keane has recorded at least one point for RMU. Against the Knights, Keane posted his first career hat trick.
UP NEXT
The Colonials head back out on the road to take on Queens down in Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday, April 15
th at 11:00 a.m. After that, RMU returns home to face Lindenwood for Senior Day, on Saturday, April 22
nd at 1:00 p.m.
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