Moon Township, Pa. - A scoring run of eight unanswered second half goals vaulted the top-seeded Colonials to a 14-8 win over the No. 4 seed Penguins in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) semifinals on Thursday afternoon at Joe Walton Stadium.

With the win, the Robert Morris women's lacrosse team improves to 10-8 overall and earns a spot in the MAC Championship game. Meanwhile, Youngstown State ends the season with a 6-12 overall record behind a 4-4 mark in conference action.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Penguins took control early to start the opening frame, netting consecutive scores to hold an early 2-0 lead. After a turnover by YSU, junior Lilli Hadden took a feed from graduate student Kelsey Nelson and found the back of the net to get the Colonials on the board. After a yellow card was distributed to the Penguins, Hadden took advantage of the man-up opportunity, carding her second straight goal to tie the score 2-2.

In the second quarter, YSU recorded consecutive scores before sophomore Chelsea Colman scooped a ground ball and beat goalkeeper Mikaela Staranko to cut the Penguins advantage. YSU would respond with back-to-back scores to give them its largest lead of the afternoon, 6-3. With less than a minute remaining in the half, RMU registered three straight goals to knot the score 6-6 at intermission. Senior Julia Koterwas started the streak before classmate Colleen Tifft found the back of the net with 15 seconds remaining. After a draw control win by Coleman, she found sophomore Jenna Irwin with six ticks remaining, who tallied her first score of the game.

SECOND-HALF RESPONDERS
For the second straight game, the Colonials outscored their opponent and used scoring runs in the second half to capture a victory. YSU broke the tie at the 11:32 mark before RMU tallied four straight scores to end the quarter. Senior Jordan Anderson found a cutting Coleman, who carded her second goal of the day before graduate student Bailey Christianson gave the Colonials their first lead of the afternoon, 8-7. Less than a minute later, Irwin found Hadden, who converted the man-up goal with 7:08 remaining in the third. Christianson would net her second goal of the quarter after executing a free position opportunity and give RMU a 10-7 lead heading into the final frame.

In the fourth quarter, the Colonials would continue its scoring run, pushing it to eight consecutive goals to give them its largest advantage of the afternoon, 14-7.   

QUOTABLE
"In the timeout right before half, we talked about how we have to relax," head coach Katrina Silva said. "We were getting good looks but just couldn't finish. We looked tight and not really being ourselves out there. I thought in that second half we started to get our mojo back by winning draws and getting shots we really liked as well as our defensive played much better."

DOOMSDAY DEFENSE
The Colonials defense was stout all second half against the Penguins, holding them to just two scores and six total shots on goal. RMU held YSU to just four draw control wins in the second half while causing seven turnovers in the final 30 minutes alone. The Colonials held an 8-1 advantage in caused turnovers, led by Defensive Player of the Year Kathleen Kelly, with a team-high three. Kelly also tied for the team lead with three ground balls while five other Colonials registered a caused turnover. Graduate student goalkeeper Jamie Keller recorded eight saves on 29 shots faced while posting a .500 saves percentage. Keller collected three saves in both the first and third quarter while tallying a pair of ground balls.

QUOTABLE
"They're just gritty kids (Kelly, Keller, Mackenzie Bell) and love working hard," Silva continued. "They really set the tone for our team and when the defense plays well, our offense starts to play better. If we can keep that same energy for the remainder of the season, we're going to be alright."

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Six different Colonials found the back of the net, led by Chelsea Coleman, who finished with five points on four scores and one assist. She fired five shots on goal while collecting a pair of ground balls. It's her seventh hat trick of the season and the fourth time she's scored four or more goals in a contest. Lilli Hadden finished with four point on the afternoon, carding three goals and one assist. She tied for the team lead with three ground balls while causing a turnover. Jenna Irwin, Colleen Tifft, and Bailey Christianson all posted a pair of scores while Julia Koterwas found the back of the net once. Jordan Anderson and Kelsey Nelson both tallied an assist during the win.

UP NEXT
For the second consecutive season, the Colonials will face the No. 3 seed Central Michigan in the MAC Championship on Saturday, May 6, with the opening draw scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at Joe Walston Stadium.
 
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