Moon Township, Pa. – RMU extends their season, by beating Jacksonville, 9-8 in the first round of the ASUN playoffs. The Colonials are now 8-7 overall. Jacksonville's season ends with a 12-4 overall record.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Early on at Joe Walton Stadium, Jacksonville got out on the right start, scoring the first goal of the game, 43 seconds in. Like in most sports, gaining momentum and going on scoring runs is what makes the difference, and the Colonials did just that after the Dolphins opening mark. RMU went on a 4-0 run, scoring four goals within four and a half minutes. The Colonials scoring spree started with a nice wraparound goal by fifth-year midfielder
Colton Lidstone. Following that goal, 27 seconds later,
David Burr scored another highlight reel goal to put the team in the lead.
Kean Moon then added in his fifth goal of the season, and Lidstone finished the run with an unassisted effort. Fifth-year attacker
Taggart Clark had a natural hat trick of assists, as he facilitated the offense, assisting RMU's first three goals.
In the final two minutes of the first quarter and into the first nine minutes of the second quarter, Jacksonville put in three goals on a 3-0 run. The away side started to gain momentum, and tied up the game 4-4. But, the Colonials responded once again, as
Elliot Holden broke away sniping in his 14
th of the year. Two minutes later, long-stick midfielder
Johnny Chaisson rocketed in his first of the year at the perfect time. After 30 minutes of play, RMU was ahead 6-4.
Entering the second half, both teams were clearly on a mission to shut down the opposing team's offense. The third quarter featured only a goal each by both sides. This time, another Colonial timed his first goal of the season well, as
Brendan Cina scored, with another assist by Clark. Heading into the final quarter, RMU remained up 7-5.
The Colonials got off to another good start in the fourth quarter, which would seal the deal.
Taggart Clark got his first of the game and 29
th of the season, 24 seconds into the final frame. With about nine minutes left in the game, sophomore goalkeeper
Nate Randall made a brilliant save, keeping the Colonials in front. Moments later,
Eric Swagerty diced and dangled a defender, and scored, bouncing the shot over the goalie's head, into the back of the net. RMU went up 9-5. In the final four minutes, Jacksonville didn't go away quietly, as they scored the last three goals of the game. Fighting for their season, it was just not enough, as RMU shut it down defensively, and went on to win the game 9-8.
BOBBY MAY
Under Head Coach
Craig McDonald, the Colonials are undefeated in the month of May in ASUN playoff action. Looking back at last season, the team knocked off Air Force 9-7, and then beat Utah 18-17 in overtime to win the ASUN Championship. Now, with a 9-8 victory over Jacksonville, RMU is 3-0 in the month of May during the past two seasons in the ASUN playoffs.
Dating back to the 2018 and 2019 seasons when the Colonials were in the Northeast conference before playing unattached for two seasons, the team is 7-0 in the month of May in conference playoff games.
PLAYOFF LEADERS
Fifth-year
Taggart Clark is used to producing in the big games. In the ASUN tournament last season, Clark posted four goals and four assists in the teams two playoff contests. His seven-point effort vs. Utah last year was the second-most amount of points produced in an ASUN playoff game since the conference started men's lacrosse. With five points in today's contest against the Dolphins, Clark is currently second in the playoff scoring race, as he's one point behind attacker Carl Klepper of Mercer, who posted six points in their loss vs. Bellarmine at Joe Walton Stadium today. Also, in net today for RMU, sophomore
Nate Randall reached 10 saves in a game for the ninth time in the 2023 campaign. His 10 saves are the third-most so far in the tournament. Senior
Elliot Holden's five ground balls are the most in the tournament, excluding face-off specialists.
DEPTH SCORING
The Ontario native
Taggart Clark led the team in scoring with one goal and four assists. Eight other Colonials recorded a point in helping the team advance to the semifinals. Team captain,
Colton Lidstone, when scoring once, usually scores again, as he achieved another brace against the Dolphins in today's outing.
Elliot Holden,
Eric Swagerty,
David Burr,
Brendan Cina,
Johnny Chaisson and
Kean Moon all tallied a goal, while
Matt Duncan recorded an important assist on Clark's goal to give the team their eighth goal of the game. Swagerty's goal with eight minutes left in the game went on to be the game winning goal.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
In today's team effort, the Colonials peppered 41 shots towards the frame. RMU stayed scrappy as they have all season, picking up 29 loose balls. The Colonials caused seven turnovers on the Dolphins. Fifth-year midfielder
Will Johansen made three of them. In total, Jacksonville had 21 turnovers. In the face-off circle, winning draws is extremely important to gain more offensive zone time. The Colonials have relied on
Steven DelleMonache to do that all year, and he did once again in the first round of the playoffs. On the day, the New Jersey native won 12-out-of-21 face-offs and scooped up six ground balls.
UP NEXT
The Colonials win and advance onto the semifinal round of the ASUN tournament. They'll play a rematch against Air Force, this Friday, May 5
th at 4:00 p.m. Both semifinal games and the championship will continue to be hosted by RMU Athletics at the Joe Walton Stadium. Tickets for all games are available
here. To look at the updated bracket, check
here.
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