Five Takeaways from the men’s lacrosse scrimmage against Seton Hill

Corson Kealey controls the ball against Seton Hill. Photo credit: Ethan Morrison

Michael Deemer
January 28, 2022

MOON TOWNSHIP– A snow flurry-filled afternoon included the christening of the 2022 men’s lacrosse season for Robert Morris. The Colonials played a tune-up scrimmage against in-state Division II foe in Seton Hill Friday.

The Colonials lost a close matchup, 12-11. Friday’s game was a scrimmage, so all stats and results will not count to the team’s records. Here are some of the takeaways from the pre-season tune-up.

Going Streaking

Corson Kealey opened things off with a bang, scoring the first two goals for the Colonials. Kealey looks to be a big part of Robert Morris’ offense this season.

From midway through the second quarter to the third, Coach Craig McDonald’s squad scored five unanswered goals to take the lead back.

Chemistry

It seems as if the Colonials have never skipped a beat in the first quarter. Dan Taddeo and Corson Kealey had a 2-on-1 break. Taddeo made a bounce pass in front of the goal to find a wide-open Kealey for the easy goal.

Many questions have been surrounding whether or not the Colonials would find their rhythm early or at all; it seems like they already have.

The Colonials used all four goalkeepers on the roster. A lot of different lineups were being used. We saw Craig McDonald used mixing and matching to try to get a feel of the roster before they face perennial powerhouse Duke next Friday.

Unforced Errors

Early in the second, an unforced turnover led to an easy Griffins goal.

In their attacking end, a missed pass sailed over the head of a wide-open man behind the goal, leading to a turnover.

Freshman goalkeeper Nate Randall’s pass sailed over a Colonial defender’s head in the defending zone, leading to an instant possession for the Griffins once again. Seton Hill scored to make an 11-9 lead evaporate to a 12-11 loss on that same possession.

Penalties

As the game continued, it got a little chippy. There was a little bit of jawing back and forth, but it was the Colonials that let their emotions get the best of them in the second quarter, leading to a man-up. It wasn’t soon after when Seton Hill scored to take the lead.

To the third, another man-up was given to the Griffins. To cut the deficit, Seton Hill scored not even ten seconds through the scheduled one-minute man advantage.

In the fourth, Alex Funk’s flag made the Colonials go down a man for the third time, as Seton Hill scored to go a perfect 3-3 on their man-up opportunities.

It’ll be interesting to see how new head coach McDonald will handle the discipline on a so-far weak penalty kill.

Making Up For Mistakes

Despite the mistakes, the Colonials found their footing being behind. The colonials were down 7-4 in the second quarter, a goal by Bo Columbus put them down two, and two quick goals in the final minute tied the game.