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#1 seed Maryland came into this game well-rested, but for some reason they looked very sluggish in the first half. Alternatively, Robert Morris came out blasting in the first two quarters and jumped all over the Terps to take 6-3 lead into halftime. Luckily for UM fans, Tillman’s bunch woke up in the second half as Maryland used a 6-1 run in the third quarter to retake control of the game and take a 9-7 lead in the fourth quarter.
Despite relinquishing the lead, Robert Morris didn’t give up. Indeed, the Colonials cut the deficit to 1 at the 14:05 mark in the 4th and even after Maryland went up 12-9 with a little under 9:00 minutes in the game, the Colonials kept fighting and were able to cut the deficit to two goals with 6:16 left in the 4th. Nevertheless, despite Robert Morris’ valiant efforts on the field, it wasn’t enough to take down the defending champs as the Terps were able to hold off RMU by a final score of 14-11 to advance to the quarterfinals for the 5th straight year and 9th time in the last 10 seasons.
Maryland was led in points by their established star, Connor Kelly, who finished with four goals on the afternoon for the Terps, and their burgeoning star, Bubba Fairman, who also finished the day with four points (3 Gs & 1 A). Maryland fans should make sure to thank their goalie Dan Morris some time this week. While Morris gave six goals in the first half, he also made more than a half dozen saves in the first two quarters to keep Maryland in the game despite Robert Morris’s early game onslaught. Indeed, Maryland could very well have gone into halftime down six or seven goals instead of three were it not for Morris.
As we always say here at College Crosse, “there are no moral victories in lacrosse,” but despite our motto, you have to tip your cap to Robert Morris for giving the People such a great First Round game. The Colonials were well-prepared for the game and did not fear the Terps in the slightest. It really was a joy watching them play today and throughout the season. RMU was led in scoring by Jimmy Perkins, whose third and final goal of the day help to get RMU within two with a little over six minutes in the fourth. RMU was without their star goalie Alex Heger today, but back-up goalie Chris Reynolds did play well in the first half, including a few nice saves to help Robert Morris to their first half lead.
The official Maryland is not up yet, but here is the box score from the game. Robert Morris finishes their 2018 season with a 13-5 record. Maryland (13-3) now moves onto the Quarterfinals where they will play the winner of Syracuse vs. Cornell, which airs at 7:15 tonight on ESPNU.