SPARKS, Md. — Robert Morris made a lot of noise during its warmup Sunday at Tierney Field, their guttural warrior chants sounding more like a Maori haka than a pregame cheer. Players and coaches found each other for a series of individualized handshakes and jumping chest bumps. In one sequence, a player appeared to catch a teammate while air-fishing, then punched his long pole into the turf like a spear.

But the real savagery resided in the Jacksonville locker room — namely a deep and underrated Dolphins defense and a goalie who in his homecoming would frustrate the Colonials to the tune of their worst shooting performance in nearly three years.

Jacksonville jumped out to a 9-1 lead and never looked back, defeating Robert Morris 15-8 in a neutral-site game at the US Lacrosse headquarters in Sparks, Md.

Goalie Hunter Sells, playing just 60 miles away from his hometown in Bethesda, Md., made 14 saves to backstop a suffocating defensive effort against a Colonials team that scored 22 goals against Canisius just last week.

“The plan was simple: Make them earn it,” said Sells, the former Johns Hopkins recruit who was one of the most coveted goalies of his class as a three-year starter at national prep power Landon (Md.). “We came out firing. We stuck to the game plan the whole game. And the offense was obviously buzzing. They looked real good today. I always appreciate that.”

Midfielder Evan Tyler scored a game-high five goals, while attackmen Jacob Greiner and Jack Dolan each netted a hat trick for the Dolphins.

Robert Morris, known for its offensive acuity thanks to a recruiting strategy that puts a premium on Canadian box lacrosse players, shot just 8-for-49 (16.3 percent) and committed 20 turnovers. The Jacksonville defense, which was without preseason All-Southern Conference pick Jordan Young, made the Colonials uncomfortable. The Dolphins frequently pressed out on ball carriers beyond the restraining box, denied adjacent passes and protected the interior.

“The analogy we use is, let’s make this a field lacrosse game, not a box lacrosse game,” coach John Galloway said. “If we can get outside of the box and play defense, it makes it a lot more difficult for them athletically. The defense really bought into the plan, stretching and exhausting ourselves.”

Jacksonville has won two straight games after a season-opening setback Feb. 1 against Detroit Mercy. That game, Galloway said, revealed lapses in the defense. The Dolphins coughed up a five-goal lead in the first quarter and a three-goal lead in the fourth. The Titans ended on a four-goal run to defeat Jacksonville 15-14.

The ensuing week’s game was canceled when Vermont could not travel to Jacksonville due to inclement weather in the Northeast. It proved to be a blessing in disguise for the Dolphins, who had an extra week to prepare for Marquette and defeated the Golden Eagles 11-9.

Galloway already considered the close defense to be Jacksonville’s deepest unit before Sunday. After all, the starting three of Jack Heed, Dixon Smith and Young all returned from 2019. Then the Dolphins added transfers Colin Hinton (Maryland) and Spencer Stokes (Pfeiffer).

Young’s absence Sunday — he was benched due to a disciplinary issue, Galloway said — gave Tyler Morris an opportunity to start. He responded with two caused turnovers and five ground balls. Smith had three and four, respectively. Hinton was preoccupied with Robert Morris sniper Ryan Smith, whom he limited to two goals on 2-for-12 shooting.

Andrew Mitchell, a two-year captain and a one-time Army transfer who plans to join the Navy SEALs after graduating this spring, and Heed also contributed as part of the defensive rotation.

You would have to go back to the 2017 Northeast Conference tournament against Bryant to find the last time Robert Morris shot as poorly as it did Sunday. The Colonials were 3-for-26 (11.5 percent) in a 12-3 loss, a low point before Robert Morris rose to win consecutive NEC titles the last two seasons.

“We had a huge emphasis on fundamentally crowding the ball and using our athleticism,” Galloway said. “The guys really bought in, and obviously the guy in cage really helped.”

That would be Sells, yet another player on the Jacksonville roster whose college career started elsewhere. Jacksonville’s own athletics website proudly proclaimed it as “Transfer U” in a story that profiled 10 current and 10 former Dolphins who found their way to Duval County by way of another school.

Sells, a senior, left Johns Hopkins after his freshman year and even had a short stop at Bucknell before coming to Jacksonville. He has double-figure saves in all three games this season, his third with the Dolphins. He enjoyed being back in his home state.

“It was a good time, and we got lucky with the weather,” he said. “We brought some Jacksonville with us.”

Asked of Sells’ potential for a big senior year, Galloway replied, “The sky’s the limit. He is such a talented kid. … It meant a lot for him to play back at home in Maryland and to prove that he is the All-American that he was when he came out of high school.”

Syracuse Surges Past Army

Drake Porter made 18 saves and Jamie Trimboli led a second-half surge Sunday as No. 6 Syracuse defeated No. 7 Army 9-7 at the Carrier Dome.

The Orange trailed 5-2 at halftime after shooting just 2-for-18 in the first 30 minutes. Trimboli turned it on in the third quarter, scoring three unanswered goals to tie it.

The Black Knights, coming off of a surprisingly lopsided loss to Marist on Tuesday, led 7-5 early in the fourth quarter. But Tucker Dordevic and David Lipka scored just 40 seconds apart from each other, then Trimboli netted his fifth goal, which proved to be the game-winner.

Jakob Phaup also played a key role in keeping Army at bay, winning 16 of 19 faceoffs.

Read more here.

Notre Dame Handles Richmond

No. 5 Notre Dame avenged last year’s loss at Richmond, erupting for seven goals in the third quarter en route to a 13-5 win Sunday in South Bend, Ind. Freshman attackman Pat Kavanagh scored a game-high four goals for the Fighting Irish (2-0).

Cornell Makes it a B-More Sweep

No. 11 Cornell capped an impressive weekend for the Ivy League and itself, throttling High Point 21-11 at Calvert Hall (Md.).

The starting attack of Michael Long (four goals, three assists), John Piatelli (six goals) and Jeff Teat (three goals, four assists) combined for 20 points in the win, which came two days after the Big Red (3-0) similarly handled Towson.

Nike/US Lacrosse Top 20

No. 5 Notre Dame 13, Richmond 5
No. 6 Syracuse 9, No. 7 Army 7
No. 11 Cornell 21, High Point 11
No. 12 Denver 10, Cleveland State 6

Other Scores

Jacksonville 15, Robert Morris 8
Air Force 11, St. Bonaventure 5