Robert Morris’ comeback bid shut down against High Point
Corson Kealey looks to take a shot against High Point Friday afternoon. Photo credit: Ethan Morrison
March 11, 2022
With Robert Morris men’s lacrosse aiming to extend their winning streak to three games, the Colonials faced a formidable opponent in High Point as the Panthers held on for a 13-11 victory.
High Point (4-3) yielded off a ferocious Robert Morris (2-4) comeback effort in the second half to boost them over the .500 mark.
Despite the close loss, head coach Craig McDonald saw progress from his team against High Point.
“Today we found out exactly what we knew about our team,” McDonald said. “We got a ton of fight, a ton of heart. It was a quick turnaround to play like that against a tough opponent.”
In comparison to Wednesday, the Colonials were limited in the first half on the scoreboard. Against Canisius, RMU registered 17 goals in the first 30 minutes of action. On Friday, High Point held Robert Morris to two goals in the opening half.
The Panthers found their offensive production from two of the top players in the country during the first half. Asher Nolting, an Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-American, found Brayden Mayea, a top-25 scorer in the nation, twice in the span of a minute and a half.
High Point continued to keep RMU at bay with the Panthers leading 4-2 going into halftime.
Robert Morris looked to start the second half by closing in on the High Point lead, however, the Panthers distanced themselves quickly to a six-goal lead.
As High Point hoped to run away with the game, Robert Morris regrouped and began on the offensive as the fourth quarter began.
The top guns of the Colonials ignited the offense as Corson Kealey and Taggart Clark scored 10 seconds apart, bringing it within a two goal game.
“We played really good lacrosse in the first half and the ball wasn’t going in for us,” McDonald said. “The message was to continue to do what we do and continue to chip away and opportunities will arise for us.”
After being down by a large margin heading into the fourth quarter, the Colonials found themselves within a goal of a tied game as Corson Kealey scored with 3:40 left in the game.
With all the Colonials’ goal scorers in the comeback effort, one player that certainly needs to be acknowledged is Bo Columbus, who dominated the faceoff circle and sprung the Colonials potent scoring attack in the final quarter. Columbus won 18 out of the 27 draws he took.
“When he’s on, he’s very good,” McDonald said. “He’s really good off the ground and a good decision maker with the ball. Extra possessions help us, especially with how we play in transition off the faceoff.”
As the Colonials were inches from tying the game, High Point received an enormous goal from Jaxson Lamb with 47 seconds left on the clock.
Following the goal, McDonald called a timeout in hopes to make one final push.
“We had to try to get a quick one in a short time,” McDonald said. “We were winning faceoffs, so we felt good. If we were able to get a good opportunity we would put it in the cage and have an opportunity to win it.”
After the timeout, the Colonials had one last look, but were stifled by the Panthers, as High Point held onto the tightly contested matchup.
Robert Morris will continue their four-game homestand when Marquette comes to Moon Township next Saturday.
