Never in the history between the two rivals has Robert Morris defeated Duquesne in women’s lacrosse; that is, not until this year.

Robert Morris came into the contest sitting one game over .500 at 5-4. Duquesne is now 2-6 on the season after falling to the Colonials, 17-6.

RMU dominated the game from start to finish after midfielder Maggie Stella won the opening draw. Stella ended the game with six points (three goals and three assists) and made her presence felt as a defender and on clears. On more than one occasion there was a Duke on the ground with her facemask dislodged due to a hit from Stella.

Two minutes into the game it was deadlocked 2-2 and the game felt like a playoff atmosphere. That was not the case throughout.

It wasn’t until 38 minutes later that anyone was able to say “Duquesne goal!” The Dukes were held scoreless for that long due to the aggressive play by the Colonials’ defense and freshman goalkeeper Katelyn Miller’s nine-save performance.

On the offensive side of those 38 minutes, RMU had put up 13 more goals to go along with its shutout. Robert Morris head coach Katy Phillips was asked after the game about her team’s approach.

“We wanted to move the ball quickly, made some tweeks offensively to make sure that our patterns were there.” Phillips said. “Whether it was coming off the dodge or looking for the feed inside, we wanted to be multifaceted.”

Three Colonials had a hat-trick, and junior midfielder Dana Davis had four goals on the day. To go along with their hat-tricks, Stella and freshman Annie Sachs both added three assists to complete their six-point performances. Freshman Mackenzie Gandy also reeled in a six-point performance with her two goals and four assists.

Stella was asked after the game about how she has found time to become a better all-around player.

“It is really difficult to find a balance between schoolwork and playing lacrosse, but you’ve got to prioritize,” Stella said. “I mean, sometimes it means sacrificing the things you’d like to be doing to get better in the game.”

Duquesne didn’t have much to be happy about except for the performance by senior midfielder Kaitlyn DeHaven. She ended her day with a goal and two assists and was consistently all over the field. Also, attacker Macy Marafioti scored her first goal of the season off an assist from DeHaven late in the second half, though RMU cruised to an easy 17-6 victory.

The Colonials will play their next game at Mount St. Mary’s on April 17 to continue Northeast Conference play.

Robert Morris Goals: Davis 4, Stella 3, Breeze 3, Sachs 3, Gandy 2, Crouse 1, Sayrafe 1

Duquesne Goals: Vacanti 2, Drotar 1, Marafioti 1, DeHaven 1, Matthai 1

Robert Morris Assists: Gandy 4, Stella 3, Sachs 3

Duquesne Assists: DeHaven 2, Drotar 1

Saves: (DU) Curtis 5, (DU) McMinimee 2, (RMU) Miller 9

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