On a breezy fall day at the North Athletic Complex, the Robert Morris Colonials (3-10-2) picked up their first Northeast Conference win this season against LIU 1-0 on Friday afternoon.

From the first minute, both teams immediately came out aggressive and started strong. The Colonials had multiple opportunities to score in the early stages of the match, but couldn’t finish on the opportunities.

“The first half we played against the wind, there was a very strong wind,” said head coach John Kowalski. “We kept the ball on the ground pretty well though.”

Robert Morris got on the board first in the 16th minute, when freshman Greer Monahan placed a beautiful pass to Madison Kozlowski to put the Colonials up 1-0. This was Kozlowski’s third goal of the season, but it seemed like clockwork for her.

“We’re staying alive,” said Kozlowski. “We have to win every game if we want to make it to the playoffs, o that’s what we have to do.”

The early lead surely took some pressure off goaltender Becky Schoenecker, whose been relied on heavily throughout the season.

“We’ve been working on trying to finish our opportunities because we’ve been getting the opportunities we just haven’t been putting them in the back of the net,” Schoenecker said. “It was nice to be able to see us be the first one on the board.”

Despite the win today, the Colonials have a tough climb back up the NEC standings.

“It was a good win for us, but we can’t celebrate too much because we have a game on Sunday,” said Kowalski. “Every game for us is a playoff type of game, and we have to win every game.”

Robert Morris will continue conference play on Sunday against Mount St. Mary’s at the North Athletic Complex.

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Kyle Gorcey