Jones, Creel, Ostrowski vs. Wagner
Randall K. Wolf

Lacrosse

VMI faces top seed Robert Morris in NEC Tournament debut

LEXINGTON, Va. – Second-year NEC member VMI will make its first ever appearance at the NEC Tournament and first postseason contest in four years when the No. 4 seed Keydets take on No. 1 seed and host Robert Morris Thursday night in the semifinal round at Joe Walton Stadium in Moon Township, Pennsylvania.
 
The winner will advance to the tournament championship Saturday afternoon to face the victor of No. 2 LIU and No. 3 Cleveland State, which square off shortly after the conclusion of the VMI-Robert Morris game Thursday night.
 
Broadcast Information
Watch on ESPN+  |  Live Stats  |  Purchase Tickets
 
The Keydets (7-6, 4-3) earned their way to the conference playoff by winning their last three games of the season and clinched the final spot in the field with a dominant 14-5 victory over Detroit Mercy this past Saturday on the road.
 
Junior Dayton Bagwell continues to lead the league in goals with 41 for the year while sophomore Beau Durkin tops the conference in assists with 22.
 
About the Colonials (12-3, 7-0)
Robert Morris completed a perfect 7-0 season in conference play this past weekend by defeating Wagner by a 16-6 score in Staten Island. The Colonials are riding a program-best 11 game winning streak and have not taken a loss since an 11-14 setback to St. Bonaventure back on February 17. Their only other losses are to #15 Johns Hopkins and #9 Richmond to open the 2026 campaign.
 
Freshman Dylan Anderson leads the team with 35 goals for the season to average 2.33 goals per game, fourth-best in the conference. Fellow Canadian Calum Brennan ranks second on the team with 27 goals for the year while Luke Prezioso (18) and Ben Eck (17) are also significant threats on the offensive end.
 
In the cage, Nate Fechter has played all but 150 minutes this season as the top goalie in the conference with a 9.76 goals-against average and logged 157 saves during the regular season. 
 
All-Time Series (2-6)
VMI won the first two contests back in 2005 and 2006 but have lost to the Colonials six consecutive times since 2007. The series took a hiatus from 2010-25, which RMU resumed with a 15-9 win over the Keydets last April in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. The Colonials won this year's contest by a 20-9 score in Lexington back on April 4.
 
Last Time vs. Robert Morris – RMU 20, VMI 9 - April 4, 2026 – Lexington, Va.
The Colonials established their presence early in the game by winning the opening faceoff and scoring a goal 17 seconds in for a quick 1-0 advantage. VMI kept pace in the first eight minutes of the period and trailed 3-2 after goals by Dayton Bagwell and Beau Durkin. Despite another goal by VMI's Will Gormsen to cut the deficit to 4-3 with 3:24 left in the first quarter, Robert Morris countered with two more goals to go into the second period with momentum riding a 6-3 lead.
 
RMU started to distance itself early in the second period with four unanswered goals to go up by a 10-3 score with just under 10 minutes before the half. Bagwell would add another VMI tally at 6:34 to stop the bleeding, but the Colonials continued the press with two more goals before the half to go into the break with a 12-4 advantage and go on to win by a final tally of 20-9.
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Dayton Bagwell

#55 Dayton Bagwell

A/M
6' 0"
Sophomore
Will Gormsen

#2 Will Gormsen

A
6' 3"
Junior
Beau Durkin

#42 Beau Durkin

A
5' 9"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Dayton Bagwell

#55 Dayton Bagwell

6' 0"
Sophomore
A/M
Will Gormsen

#2 Will Gormsen

6' 3"
Junior
A
Beau Durkin

#42 Beau Durkin

5' 9"
Freshman
A