Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris women's soccer team exploded offensively, beating Wright State, 4-2. The Colonials moved up to 8-2-2 overall on the year and are now 2-2 in conference games. The Raiders head home 4-4-2 overall and 2-1 in the Horizon League.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
On a rainy Sunday, the Colonials immediately got to work at the North Athletic Complex.
Right off the bat, RMU earned a corner kick in the second minute of the game and midfielders
Taylor Day and
Elisa Corvalan recorded shots following the corner kick.
Just eight minutes into the game,
Malia Kearns scored the first goal of the game. Her shot skipped past the Raiders goalkeeper and gave the team an early lead.
Following the first goal, RMU peppered two more shots, but going the other way, Wright State tied up the game in the 14
th minute.
Through the middle of the half, the Colonials kept on the pressure, earning three more corner kicks and pouncing three more shots at the frame.
With seven minutes left to go in the first, Kearns would be the goal scorer once again. Freshman
Julia Becerra found Kearns in the box, she took a touch cutting inside and slammed in a world class finish into the top-right corner to give RMU the lead till halftime.
Early on in the second half, RMU got right back to where they left off, creating several chances. The first 15 minutes featured four shots and two corner kicks for the home side.
In the 61
st minute, Kearns completed the natural hat trick, scoring another goal past a different Raiders goalkeeper to move RMU up, 3-1. This time, she received the ball out, beat a player and slotted the ball into the back of the net on the far post.
About 10 minutes passed, the Colonials kept possession in WSU's defensive zone. After three consecutive corner kicks, the ball popped out to Kearns on the third opportunity, and she banged another one home for her fourth goal of the game.
As time winded down, with just 15 seconds left in the game, the Raiders Kaylin Helinski scored a goal, but goalkeeper
Brenna Murray would go on to earn another victory, as RMU defeated Wright State, 4-2 at home.
SCORING PLAYS AND CAUTIONS
9' – Goal: Malia Kearns (4)
14' – Goal: Caitlin Burger (1), Assisted by: Kaitlyn Eyink (1)
39' – Goal: Malia Kearns (5), Assisted by: Julia Becerra (1)
61' – Goal: Malia Kearns (6)
76' – Goal: Malia Kearns (7)
77' – Yellow Card: Elise Canter
90' – Goal: Kaylin Helinkski (2)
KEARNS'S CAREER DAY
Malia Kearns didn't just score one, two or three goals, the sophomore midfielder dominated, pounding in four goals on the day. Kearns's four goals and eight points in one game are an official program record. Recording the game-winning goal as well, she's now tied third all-time in game-winning goals in a season with three. Now with seven goals and three assists, Kearns has reached 17 points in 2023. She's made her way into the top 10 in program history in goals and points scored through one season.
COLONIAL FIRST
After appearing in all 12 games in the 2023 campaign, freshman
Julia Becerra was rewarded for her solid play in the midfield, earning her first career assist on
Malia Kearns's second goal of the match. The California native has reached 350 minutes played on the year.
ACROSS THE HORIZON
Currently, three Colonials are in the top four in points produced in the Horizon League. After
Malia Kearns's four-goal game, she's in first place in the conference with 17 points. In third and fourth place with 15 points is sophomore
Renae Mohrbacher (6g, 3a) and graduate forward
Lidia Nduka (7g, 1a). Kearns is also #1 in game-winning goals with three on the year. Her and Nduka share the lead for goals scored with seven apiece. Also, in the assist column, senior
Haleigh Finale is second on the chart with five assists. Teammates
Elisa Corvalan and Kaoru Hayahsi are right behind her with four helpers during the campaign. And, with three assists,
Taylor Day,
Malia Kearns and
Renae Mohrbacher are all tied fourth in the conference.
QUOTABLE
"Very pleased with the team's performance today. Obviously, it was a stellar individual performance by
Malia Kearns, but it was the support of the rest of the team that provided her those chances. This time is great going forward and has a lot of individuals that can score goals. Typically, our scoring is spread out but kudos to Malia for such a dominant individual performance today."
- Head Coach Chris Shaw
UP NEXT
RMU will head out on the road again but not far as they'll take on Carlow at Highmark Stadium in their last non-conference game of the season. The Colonials will face the Celtics on Wednesday, September 27 at 6:00 p.m.
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