MCCANDLESS TWP. Pa — After finding their footing in recent Horizon League matchups, Robert Morris looked to keep their foot on the gas in a midweek non-conference matchup against La Roche. They did just that as they defeated the Redhawks by a final score of 2-0.

Head coach Chris Shaw began the game with his usual starters. Despite this, the Colonials (7-2-4) were unable to capitalize for most of the first half despite a considerable time of possession advantage over the Redhawks (2-5-2).

With most of the first half being played in Redhawk territory, Shaw pulled many of his starters early, allowing others to get decent amounts of playing time and experience.

“It was an opportunity for some players that aren’t as on the field as often to get some time,” Shaw said postgame.

The Redhawks were led in net by Julianna Hornikel, who was named Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Player of the Week for her shutout against Pitt-Bradford. Hornikel held the Colonials scoreless for most of the first half and reached the 100 save mark during today’s game.

“I thought they [La Roche] came out organized and made things difficult on us,” Shaw said. “They kept numbers behind the ball and condensed the space in behind.”

The Colonials struck first just before halftime as Miyu Kojima scored on a well-placed Kassidy Fischer assist.

The second half was more of the same, with the Colonials dominating the time of possession despite resting starters. The Redhawks had zero shots on goal in the second half, but they once again kept RMU scoreless for most of the period.

“I didn’t feel like we made a lot of good decisions in terms of trying to maximize where we could be dangerous,” Shaw said. “Our best chances came off of crosses into the box from wide positions, and we just didn’t get enough of those in.”

Robert Morris was able to build on their lead with about a minute to go in the game when Nicola Mosionek scored thanks to yet another assist by Kassidy Fischer.

As the clock hit triple zeroes, the final score read 2-0, with the Colonials coming out on top.

The Colonials will next play on Sunday as they take a trip to Oakland to face off against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies in Horizon League conference play.