MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – The Sacred Heart men's lacrosse team opened Northeast Conference play Saturday with a 12-7 loss to the Robert Morris Colonials at Joe Walton Stadium.

The Pioneers had won the last three meetings against the Colonials prior to Saturday's matchup. Bryce Jurk led SHU with two assists and three points. Brian Masi had two goals, while Matt Posch and Max Tuttle also had two points on a goal and an assist. Mike Calvagna won 12 of 22 faceoffs and had a team-high six groundballs. Chase Godfrey and TJ Fitzell led the Pioneers' defense with three caused turnovers.

Robert Morris (3-5, 1-0 NEC) and Sacred Heart (2-6, 0-1 NEC) traded goals throughout the first half. James Rahe put the Colonials on the board first at the 13:16 mark of the first quarter. Sean Patterson tied the game 1-1 with 9:09 to play in the opening quarter, getting an assist from Jurk. RMU took the lead back less than a minute later, but Tuttle tied the game 2-2 with five seconds remaining in the first quarter. Eric Rankel scored twice in the second quarter for the Colonials, but goals by SHU's Nick Albanese and Masi tied the game 4-4 with 7:14 to play in the half. Luke Laskiewicz gave Robert Morris a 5-4 halftime lead with his goal at the 2:16 mark of the second quarter.

The Colonials extended their lead to three early in the third quarter. Adrian Torok-Orban scored three straight goals to give RMU an 8-4 lead with 8:25 remaining. Rahe then tallied back-to-back goals to extend the Colonials' advantage to 10-4 with 7:11 left in the third. Jurk ended the Robert Morris 6-0 run with a goal at the 3:19 mark of the quarter. The Pioneers closed the gap to three early in the fourth quarter. After Matt Posch scored a man-up goal 30 seconds in, Masi scored his second goal of the game to make the score 10-7 with 10:39 to play. RMU goalie Alex Hager made sure SHU was held to seven goals, making five saves in the last 10 minutes as the Colonials went on to win 12-7.

Sacred Heart outshot Robert Morris 41-38 with the Colonials holding a 29-27 edge in groundballs. The Pioneers were 1-for-3 on the extra man as Robert Morris converted twice on five extra man opportunities. Torok-Orban led all players with four goals and added an assist for five points. Rahe also had five points on three goals and two assists. The combination of Heger and Matt Bukovac made 16 saves for RMU, while Greg Price had 12 for SHU.

The Pioneers return to Campus Field on Friday, March 25 for a 7 p.m. matchup against Bryant.

FIRST QUARTER

- Patterson's goal at the 9:09 mark was his first since the Dartmouth game on Feb. 20.

- Tuttle's goal was his fourth in the last three games.

- RMU outshot SHU 10-4 in the quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

- SHU outshot Robert Morris 13-7.

- Albanese scored his first career goal at the 9:30 mark.

THIRD QUARTER

- RMU scored five goals in the first 7:49 of the quarter.

- Jurk's goal was his sixth of the season, and ended a stretch of 18:55 without a SHU goal. 

FOURTH QUARTER

- Posch's goal 30 seconds into the quarter was a man-up goal, assisted by Tuttle. He had assisted on Tuttle's goal in the first quarter.

- Masi's goal gave him his eighth multi-point game in his last nine, dating back to last season.

- Heger made eight of his 10 saves in the fourth quarter.