PHILADELPHIA– The Robert Morris men’s soccer team (0-3) looks to right the ship after a rough start to their season on Saturday, when they visit Philadelphia to take on the La Salle Explorers (1-1) out of the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Recapping RMU

The Colonials have had a rough start out of the gate this season, dropping their first three games handily. RMU’s offense has struggled immensely early on, with the Colonials being dominated in terms of shots, including their last game against Cleveland State, where they only managed four shots. Their only goal of the season so far came off of a late penalty kick from Christian Coridon against Oakland.

Scouting La Salle

The Explorers come into this home field matchup 1-1 on the season, with a 2-1 victory over Iona, where they were outshot heavily, but managed pull out ahead anyway. Their next game against St. Francis Brooklyn was more even possession-wise, but strangely was a 3-0 loss for the Explorers. Their roster is heavily sophomores and freshmen, with only four seniors and one junior on the squad. Still, that is no reason for the Colonials to underestimate them. Redshirt freshman Colin Bateman has already scored the first goal of his collegiate career, and sophomore goalkeeper Brett Werner looks to get his third start of the season for the young Explorers team.

Players to Watch

Christian Coridon, RMU

With the Colonials desperate for somebody to step up on offense, the main person people will look at is senior Christian Coridon. Though he has RMU’s lone goal of the season, the Colonials are looking for much more out of him. He played a season-high 62 minutes against Cleveland State last game, so expect to see him out on the field a lot against La Salle.

The Goalkeeper, RMU

Yes, this is as abstract as it sounds. So far this season the Colonials have played all three of their goalies on their roster, and are not set on who gets the starting role. Freshman goalie Mike Zolnierczyk was peppered for five goals against, Oakland but handled himself well. Sophomore goalie Grant Glorioso got the start against Bowling Green and gave up the least goals out of the three goalies. However, he also gave up a key turnover that led to the second goal for the Falcons. Finally, senior goalkeeper Christian Snatchko played against Cleveland State, where he was also dealt a heavy beating on shots. In my eyes, the starting job is still up for grabs for whoever steps up to take it. If whoever is in net for RMU has a good game against La Salle, they may likely end up the starter for this season.

Pat McCarthy, La Salle

A senior leader for the Explorers, McCarthy has loads of experience having played in 47 games over his four seasons. He scored his first goal this season against Iona, and looks to carry some momentum into this game against RMU. If RMU can shut down their veteran leader, the Colonials will hopefully be able to do the same to the young core of the Explorers team as well.

Prediction

Things probably couldn’t have gone worse for the Colonials so far this season, and they desperately need a big win over La Salle if they hope to turn things around. For this to happen though, the entire team needs to play better. They need stronger defensive play, consistent goaltending, and most importantly, somebody to step up on offense and take control. The players know they need to be better and as such I’m hoping they can turn things around against La Salle. I’m saying that RMU gets a key 2-1 victory over La Salle, which hopefully allows them to carry some good momentum into their next game.