Hayashi’s brace leads Robert Morris to first win of season vs St. Francis, 3-0

Robert Morris University women’s soccer team earned its first win of the year, taking down former Northeast Conference foe Saint Francis University by a final score of 3-0 in a non-conference match at SouthPointe Field House on Wednesday.

Kaoru Hayashi scored twice and added an assist while Courtney Worstell earned her first clean sheet of the season in goal for the Colonials.

The win is the first for RMU under first-year head coach Chris Shaw.

“It was good to get a game against an opponent where we can look back and see comparative results from the past,” Shaw said.

“In the Horizon League, everyone is new and we don’t really have a frame of reference for those games. I thought the team played well, especially in the second half where we stepped it up after a bit of a shaky start.”

It was the Flash who enjoyed the advantage in possession early on Wednesday, testing RMU with three shots and a pair of corners within the first 15 minutes of kick off.

As RMU got its legs under themselves, they began a counter and soon were putting the Flash on their heels. An extended bout of possession nearly ended with Sheridan Reid opening the scoring up, but her effort was swallowed up by the SFU keeper.

After another bout of sustained pressure, Hayashi gave RMU its first lead of the game and first lead fo the 2021 season, slotting home a chance from inside the box on the near post for her first as a Colonial.

An energized RMU squad kept the pressure up as the second half opened, navigating through the middle third of the field and gaining more attacking zone time.

Hayashi picked up a brace in the 68′, lashing home a free kick that struck the crossbar and bounced over the line to double the Colonials lead to 2-0.

Haleigh Finale picked up her second goal of the year just minutes later, finishing off a nice passing sequence with Hayashi in the box to push it to 3-0 , making it a five-point day for Hayashi and sealing away RMU’s first victory of the season.

“I feel like the girls have made big improvements over the last three weeks,” Shaw said.  “Just their comfort level on the ball and their willingness to play and not just panicking. We’re starting to play ourselves out of tight spots instead of just knocking it out or kicking it and hoping for the best. Our ability to play out of the back has improved and that’s all new to this team.”

RMU returns to Horizon League action as they look to push their win streak to two games next Wednesday when they head to Chicago to face UIC on February 24th.