A new era has begun for the 2010 Mount St. Mary's women's lacrosse team. A new coach and a young team will look to grow together to continue the Mount women's lacrosse winning tradition.

First-year head coach Sonia LaMonica inherits a team that lost 62 percent of its points from last season. Four of the six starters returning come on the defensive side, including the 2009 Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year Aly Jost (Abington, Md./Bel Air).

"We have some shoes to fill on the offensive end in terms of scoring, and this will provide opportunity for some of our younger players to emerge and play significant roles on attack, said LaMonica."

The squad will have a different look in the coaching box and on the field, but the expectations for the Mount St. Mary's remains the same. The Mountaineers have advanced to the NEC Tournament in each of the last seven seasons and 11 of the 12 seasons in the league.

"I enjoy coaching teams that are enthusiastic about the game, and who are ready to learn and willing to work hard toward accomplishing a common goal," said LaMonica. "When the players are passionate about what they are doing, the sky really is the limit. I believe this team possesses those qualities. Being a midfielder as a player, I understand the importance of having sound fundamentals at both ends of the field as well as in between in order to be successful."

The first thing that LaMonica and her team need to do is make the transition into getting to know each other, which in many instances can make or break the season.

"Coming to the Mount midway through the year certainly brings some challenges but overall I feel the transition has been very smooth," said LaMonica. "I've thoroughly enjoyed building process and getting to know the players, and I am excited to see the continued growth of this team as we progress through the spring season."

If the team gels together, this youthful team will be a tough opponent to face which could lead to competing for a Top-4 spot in the league.

"Despite some of the challenges we have had to face so far, I feel that this team is growing closer and will be stronger having overcome those adversities," said LaMonica. "On the field, we will be resilient and tough at the back end going into season, and I am confident that this will progress up the field through our attack as we continue to move forward and gain playing experience."

The defense returns a wealth of experience with four players that earned a starting nod last season.

"Our team this year returns plenty of experience to our defensive end and we will continue to grow and build our offensive game to compliment that," said LaMonica.

Jost, a junior defender, paced the NEC with 47 ground balls and paced the Mount with 19 caused turnovers on her way to the NEC Defensive Player of the Year award. The junior notched 11 draw controls and her first collegiate goal and assist last season.

Senior defender Jackie Kearney (Baltimore, Md./Seton Keough), a 2008 All-NEC second-team selection, posted one goal and four assists for five points and tallied 16 ground balls, 15 draw controls and 10 caused turnovers in her junior year. Kearney ranks seventh in program history with 79 draw controls.

Senior defender Cait Fraccalvieri (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) is the third starter returning on the defensive end in 2010. The senior posted 20 ground balls, 12 draw controls and six caused turnovers in 15 starts.

Senior defenders Katie Bollinger (Westminster, Md./Winters Mill) and Sydney Sykes (Westminster, Md./Winters Mill) also return with starting experience in the back after starting two and five games, respectively. Bollinger registered her first collegiate tally along with five ground balls, five draw controls and four caused turnovers in nine games while Sykes tallied five ground balls, four caused turnovers and two draw controls in 15 contests.

Junior Lucy Pompa (Baltimore, Md./Bryn Mawr) will lead the midfield core this season after having a breakout sophomore campaign. The junior earned a spot on the All-NEC second team after ranking second on the squad in ground balls (31), draw controls (26) and caused turnovers (15). Pompa also was a threat on the offensive end with 10 tallies and one assist for 11 points.

Sophomore midfielder Esther Rufolo (Woodstock, Md./Chapelgate Christian Academy) posted five goals and two assists for seven points. The sophomore ranked second on the team with 21 draw controls while also contributing eight ground balls and eight caused turnovers in 14 games including four starts.

Junior Alexis Salerno (South Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) recorded five tallies and one helper for six points along with four draw controls and two ground balls in 13 appearances and four starts. Sophomores Jen Semler (Baltimore Md./Perry Hall) and Meaghan Conlon (Eldersburg, Md./Liberty) also gained experience in the midfield last season. Semler posted four goals and one assist for five points and also had three ground balls, one draw control and one caused turnovers in 12 games off the bench while Conlan notched one tally and two helpers for three points, nine ground balls, five draw controls and three caused turnovers 13 games including two starts.

"I will also be looking to our midfield contingent to bring firepower to both our transition and settled offense, namely in Lucy, Meghan Esther and Alexis," said the coach. "Together they bring a combination of speed, power and finishing ability which will ignite our attack."

The rest of the midfield consists of freshmen Jordan Certeza (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore Lutheran), Allie Fife (Alexandria, Va./Bishop Ireton) and Kaitlyn Larrimore (Pylesville, Md./North Harford). This trio will look to fight with the returning players for a starting spot in the midfield and valuable playing time.

Of the 38 percent of the offense returning, senior attacker Ashley Johnson (Arvada, Colo./Arvada West) accounts for most of it. The senior posted 29 markers and five assists for 34 points along with eight ground balls, eight caused turnovers and six draw controls in 17 games. A 2008 All-NEC first-team selection, Johnson comes into her final season needing one goal to crack the program's career Top-10 list and four points to become the 17th player in program history to reach 100 points in her career.

"I will look for Ashley to bring that leadership and experience this year," said LaMonica.

Junior Kelly Taylor (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air) is the squad's third leading returning scorer with nine goals in 11 games including one start while senior Emily Kirby (Reisterstown, Md./Franklin) had five goals and four assists for nine points in 14 games including four starts. Senior Mary Kate Lavin (Ellicott City, Md./Maryvale) had four goals in six games last season.

Freshman attacker Natalie Loutchaninoff (Kingwood, Texas/Northeast Christian Academy) will also be looking to crack the starting lineup as an attacker this season.

In goal, sophomore goalkeeper Brigid McTavish (Mount Airy, Md./South Carroll), the granddaughter of Mount men's basketball great Jack Sullivan, posted 111 saves, a 12.49 goals against average and .414 saves percentage last season. Sophomore Sarah Leder (Manalapan, N.J./Colts Neck) will serve as McTavish's backup.

LaMonica will make her head coaching debut at Lehigh on Saturday and will make her Waldron Family Stadium debut on Feb. 22 against Howard. The Mountaineers will also host Longwood (Mar. 13), Saint Francis (Pa.) (Mar. 26), Robert Morris (Mar. 28), Central Connecticut State (Apr. 9), Bryant (Apr. 11) and Johns Hopkins (Apr. 13).

The squad will have its first-ever night game at Waldron Family Stadium against the Red Flash and the Mount will travel near Johnson's hometown in Denver, Colo., for contests against Denver (Feb. 28) and Holy Cross (Mar. 3).

"Our out of conference schedule is comprised of some tough competition and strong rivals that will help to prepare us for conference games," said LaMonica. "It's imperative that we are challenged and and put to the test early to gain the necessary experience to be successful down the line, especially in a competitive conference such as the NEC."