Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris women's lacrosse team saw its 2023 season come to a close on Saturday in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship with a 15-12 defeat to No. 3 Central Michigan at Joe Walton Stadium.

With the loss, the Colonials end the season with a 10-9 overall record behind a 7-1 mark in conference play. Meanwhile, the Chippewas capture its second straight MAC title while punching their ticket to the 2023 NCAA Tournament. They improve to 10-8 overall with a 6-2 mark in league action.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
It was a hot start for Robert Morris as they fired three shots in the first two minutes of the opening frame. At the 12:54 mark, sophomore Chelsea Coleman took a feed from graduate student Kelsey Nelson and found the back of the net for her first score of the afternoon. Central Michigan responded with three consecutive scores to hold a 3-1 advantage after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Chippewas continued to stay hot as they rattled off four straight scores to capture a 7-1 lead. RMU would counter with three of the next four goals to trim the Chippewas advantage. Senior Julia Koterwas found the back of the net before classmate Colleen Tifft took a pass from graduate student Emilie Kim and netted her first score of the game. After a yellow card was issued to Central Michigan, Coleman executed the man-up free position shot to cut the lead to 8-4. The Chippewas would tally another score before the half as they held a 9-4 lead at intermission.

In the second half, the Colonials looked to make another comeback as they carded consecutive goals to begin the third quarter. Graduate student Bailey Christianson registered a score before Koterwas found a cutting sophomore Jenna Irwin, who beat goalkeeper Alexa Martel. Central Michigan responded with back-to-back scores before Tifft found the back of the net for the second time, 11-7. The Chippewas would net two of the next three goals to hold a 13-8 lead heading to the final frame.

Central Michigan stretched its advantage to its largest lead of the contest after netting consecutive goals to begin the fourth quarter, 15-8. RMU looked to make a little magic as they netted four straight scores to trim the Chippewas advantage.

QUOTABLE
"I'm very proud of our girls," head coach Katrina Silva said. "We continued to fight and even in the fourth quarter, they didn't care about the clock. They just wanted to keep playing and you got to give a lot of respect to a group like that."

HATTY HATTY
A pair of Colonials paced the team and registered hat tricks in Chelsea Coleman and Colleen Tifft. Coleman finished with three scores after firing three shots on goal while collecting a team-high five draw controls and a caused turnover. She finished the season with 43 goals while extending her scoring streak to 18 straight games and carded eight hat tricks. Coleman ends the 2023 campaign with 50 total points, 49 draw controls and 20 caused turnovers. Tifft recorded three scores on the afternoon, stretching her scoring streak to five consecutive games and tallying her eighth hat trick. She fired eight shots on goal while collecting three ground balls, three caused turnovers, and a caused turnover. Tifft finished the season with 51 total points while tallying 40 scores and 11 assists. She collected 42 draw controls, 21 ground balls, and 14 caused turnover.

QUOTABLE
"We're going to take a little break and celebrate a great season," Silva continued. "We had a great year and there was a point in the season where I didn't think we'd even be in this game. This team fights and they love and care for each other and they show it, that's why we're here."

ALL-TOURNEY
A trio of Colonials were named to the All-Tournament team. Colleen Tifft, Chelsea Coleman, and Kathleen Kelly were tabbed as All-Tournament honorees. Tifft finished the tournament with five goals, five draw controls, four ground balls, and two caused turnovers. In two games, Coleman finished with seven scores, six draw controls, two ground balls, and one caused turnover. Kelly, the MAC Defensive Player of the Year, ended the tournament with five ground balls and four caused turnovers while garnering the top player on the opposing team.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Jenna Irwin finished with two scores while collecting a ground ball as Lilli Hadden posted a pair of scores while carding two ground balls and a caused turnover. Julia Koterwas and Bailey Christianson each finished with two points while registering a goal and one assist. Kelsey Nelson finished the game with a pair of assists and two draw controls.  

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