Games 9: Robert Morris (4-4, 2-1 NEC) at Mount St. Mary's (3-5, 1-1 NEC)
When: Sat, Mar. 28, 2010, 1 p.m.
Where: Waldron Family Stadium, Emmitsburg, Md.

Series Information: Mount St. Mary's leads 4-1
Last Meeting: Robert Morris (14-13) 4-19-09
First Meeting: Mount (20-2) 3-26-05
Last Mount Win: (14-9) 3-20-08

opening draw... Sunday's game between Mount St. Mary's and Robert Morris marks the sixth meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 2005 season. The Colonials downed the Mount last season for its first win in the matchup. The Mountaineers lead the series 4-1. Mount St. Mary's last win was a 14-9 decision in 2008.

about the colonials... Robert Morris comes into the match 4-4 overall and 2-1 in Northeast Conference play after falling 12-5 at Monmouth on Friday. Junior M Ashley Trombetta paced the Colonials with two goals against the Hawks. Trombetta leads the team with 17 goals and 10 assists for 27 points. Sophomore A Courtney Sicinski ranks second on the squad with 13 markers and seven assists for 20 points while senior A Alana Beck is third with 15 goals and four assists for 19 points. Freshman M Tara Southworth fuels the defense with 11 caused turnovers and 17 ground balls and has registered eight markers and four helpers for 12 points. Senior GK Erica Webb has 79 saves, a 9.73 goals against average and a .527 save percentage.

last time we met... Robert Morris scored the game-winning goal with 10 seconds remaining to spoil a furious comeback by Mount St. Mary's to earn a 14-13 victory on Apr, 19, 2009. Katelyn Catanese paced Mount St. Mary's with a career-high six goals while Breana Waraksa dished out three assists. Jillian Howley finished with two goals for the Colonials while Kara Blakeley fueled the Colonials with four goals and an assist. Ashley Trombetta and Ashley Levering each added a marker and two assists in the win

last time out... Emily Kirby posted a career-high five goals and two assists to lift Mount St. Mary's past Saint Francis (Pa.) 14-8 on Friday night. Ashley Johnson added three markers and two assists while Jackie Kearney registered two goals and two assists in the winning effort.

next on tap... Mount St. Mary's travels to Sacred Heart on Friday and then heads to Quinnipiac on Apr. 3.

certeza honored by league... Jordan Certeza was named the Northeast Conference (NEC) Rookie of the Week for the week of Mar 8-14. It is her first conference honor. Certeza posted six goals and five assists for 11 points to help Mount St. Mary's to a 1-1 week. She collected two goals and three assists in a thrilling 15-14 double overtime victory at George Washington. Certeza went on to net a career-high four goals and added two assists for six points in an 11-10 setback to Longwood.

in the nation... Mount St. Mary's ranks 19th in the NCAA Division I in draw controls per game (13.71).

non-conference wins... Mount St. Mary's has won two non-conference games in 2010 after going 0-8 in non-league slate last season. The squad won two non-conference games in 2007 and three in 2006.

mount and overtime... Mount St. Mary's won its first overtime game since defeating Monmouth 8-7 in the Northeast Conference Championship Game on May 1, 2005 with its 15-14 double-overtime victory against George Washington on Mar. 10. It ended a three-game losing streak in overtime after falling to Quinnipiac (2006), Fairfield (2007) and Lehigh (2009) in the extra session since the win against the Hawks. The Mount is now 4-3 in overtime in program history.

the comeback... Mount St. Mary's rallied from a six-goal deficit to defeat George Washington 15-14 in double overtime on Mar. 10. The Mount trailed 13-7 with 13:49 left before senior Ashley Johnson notched a natural hat trick to trim the margin to 13-10. Mount St. Mary's scored three times in the final 1:59 to send the game to overtime before Johnson capped off her career-high seven-goal afternoon with the game-winner with six seconds left in the second overtime. It marked the first time the Mount rallied from a six-goal deficit since falling behind 6-0 to Denver in the first half on Mar. 19, 2000. The Mount then scored five goals to end the half and scored the game-winner with 8:13 left in the second half.

johnson's homecoming... Senior Ashley Johnson played in her home state for the first time in her collegiate career when the Mountaineers faced Denver and Holy Cross in Denver, Colo. on Feb. 28 and Mar. 3. The senior scored a goal in the 18-2 loss against the Pioneers and had two tallies against the Crusaders.

congrads coach... Head coach Sonia LaMonica picked up her first career head coach victory with a 21-1 win against Howard on Feb. 22.

about the coach... Sonia LaMonica begins her first season at the Mount in 2010. LaMonica comes to the Mount after serving as an assistant coach at Denver and Towson. A native of Darlington, South Australia, LaMonica led the Australian National Team to a gold medal at the 2005 World Cup Championships and a silver medal at the 2009 World Cup Championships. She was named to the 2005 IFWLA All-World team, the U21 South Australian Sportswoman of the Year and was a two-time member of the South Australian A-Grade All-Star team. A 2003 graduate of the University of Maryland, LaMonica was a three-year starter for the Terrapins. She earned first team All-America honors and was a candidate for the Tewaaraton Trophy as a senior after leading Maryland to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship. LaMonica won three ACC titles during her career and helped Maryland win the NCAA championship during the 2000 and 2001 seasons. She finished her college career with 111 goals, including 49 during her senior year when she served as a team captain, and had 55 assists.

in the month... The Mount is 55-47 all-time in the month of March. The squad is 36-14 at home, but just 19-33 away from Emmitsburg. Mount St. Mary's will have three games at Waldron Family Stadium and three road contests in the month.

a career day to write about... Sophomore Esther Rufolo notched her first collegiate hat trick against Lehigh on Feb. 20. The sophomore notched her second hat trick of her career along with one assist for a career-high four points against Holy Cross on Mar. 3. Junior Alexis Salerno scored a personal-best four tallies against Howard on Feb. 22. Senior Ashley Johnson scored a career-high seven goals in a 15-14 double overtime win against George Washington on Mar. 10. Freshman Jordan Certeza posted a career-high four goals against Longwood on Mar. 13. Senior Emily Kirby scored a career-high five times against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Mar. 26.

in their debut... Freshman Jordan Certeza made her collegiate debut in the starting lineup against Lehigh on Feb. 20 while Kaitlyn Larrimore, Allie Fife and Natalie Loutchanioff saw action off the bench against the Mountain Hawks. Goalkeeper Sarah Leder saw her first collegiate action against Howard on Feb. 22.

remember the first time we scored... Senior Sydney Sykes (one goal, one assist) and freshmen Jordan Certeza (two goals, four assists), Kaitlyn Larrimore (one goal), Allie Fife (one goal, one assist) and Natalie Loutchaninoff (one goal) each recorded their first career points in the contest against Howard on Feb. 22.

preseason poll... The Mount St. Mary's women's lacrosse team has been picked fifth in the Northeast Conference (NEC) Preseason Coaches Poll. Two-time defending champion Sacred Heart was selected as the preseason favorite after receiving five first-place votes. Monmouth nabbed three first-place nods to finish second and Quinnipiac picked up the final two first-place votes to place third in the poll while Robert Morris, the Mount, Wagner, Long Island, Bryant, Central Connecticut State and Saint Francis (Pa.) rounded out the 10-team poll.

turning the program around... After starting the first eight campaigns of women's lacrosse at the Mount with a 61-70 record, the Mount has posted a 66-52 overall mark and 38-11 record in the Northeast Conference since the start of the 2004 season. The squad has notched three winning seasons, three league regular season championships (2004, 2005, 2007) and two NCAA Division I tournament berths (2004, 2005) in that stretch.

johnson and more johnson... Senior Ashley Johnson has 104 goals and 16 assists for 120 points in her career. The senior moved into seventh place on the program's all-time career Top-10 with 104 tallies after finding the twine three times against Longwood on Mar. 13. Next on the all-time goals list list is Erica Hensley (110, 1997-09). Johnson became the 17th player in program history to reach 100 points in her career and needs nine points to crack the Top-10. The senior posted a career-high seven goals in a 15-14 double overtime win against George Washington on Mar. 10, one shy of the single-game program record.

kearney a big draw... Senior Jackie Kearney ranks seventh in program history with 89 career draw controls. Next on the list is Kim Keene (100, 2001-04). Kearney was named to the All-Northeast Conference second team as a freshman.

aly is all defense... Junior Aly Jost has been named to the All-Northeast Conference first team in her first two campaigns and was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2009. Jost paced the NEC with 47 ground balls and fueled the Mount with 19 caused turnovers as a sophomore. The junior needs seven caused turnovers to crack the all-time career Top-10. The junior became the 23rd player in program history with 100 ground balls after scooping up one ground ball against Denver on Feb. 28.

rufolo's a big draw... Sophomore Esther Rufolo leads the team with 23 draw controls in 2010 after ranking third on the team with 21 in her freshman campaign. The sophomore grabbed a career-high seven draw controls against Howard on Feb. 22 and against Holy Cross on Mar. 3. In addition to getting the offense started, Rufolo ranks third on the team with 12 goals and two assist for 14 points. She notched her first collegiate hat trick in the season opener against Lehigh on Feb. 20 and a career-high four points (three goals, one assist) against the Crusaders.

pompa pumps up the jam... Junior Lucy Pompa did it all for the Mount in 2009, ranking second on the team in ground balls (31), draw controls (26) and caused turnovers (15) to earn a spot on the All-Northeast Conference second team. The junior moved into ninth place on the program's all-time career draw controls list with one draw control against Monmouth and now has 71 career draw controls. Next on the list is Leanne Robustelli (78, 2003-06) in eighth place.

local rivalry... Mount St. Mary's will play three teams from the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area this season. The Mount will host Howard (W, 21-1) on Feb. 22 and Johns Hopkins on Apr. 13 and traveled to George Washington (W, 15-14 2OT). The Bison returned to the schedule for the first time since the 2005 season while the Blue Jays will be making their second trip to Emmitsburg and the first since the 1998 season.

conference honors... The Mount returns two players that received All-Northeast Conference recognition last season. Junior Aly Jost was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Year and to the All-NEC first team while junior Lucy Pompa was named to the All-NEC second team. Senior was named to the All-NEC first team in 2008 and senior Jackie Kearney was named to the All-NEC second team as a freshman.

the mount royal blood line... Freshman goalkeeper Brigid McTavish is related to one of the best Mount St. Mary's men's basketball player in program history. McTavish's grandfather is Jack Sullivan, the Mount's men's basketball all-time leading scorer with 2,672 career points.

high school teammates in college... Senior local products Katie Bollinger and Sydney Sykes played together on the Winters Mill defense in Westminster, Md. In addition juniors Kelly Taylor and Aly Jost played together at Bel Air.

the local crew... Mount St. Mary's has four players on its roster from Carroll County. Senior Katie Bollinger (Westminster, Md.), sophomore Meaghan Conlan (Eldersburg, Md.), sophomore Brigid McTavish (Mount Airy, Md.), and senior Sydney Sykes (Westminster, Md.) all hail from the neighboring county.

new to the mountain... Along with first-year head coach Sonia LaMonica, freshmen Jordan Certeza, Allie Fife, Kaitlyn Larrimore, Kristin O'Donnell and Natalie Loutchaninoff join the team in 2010.

first women's lacrosse hall of famer... Former Mount St. Mary's women's lacrosse standout Jen Stocker will be inducted into the Mount Hall of Fame on Mar. 13 to become the first women's lacrosse player to be enshrined in the institutions sports hall of fame. Stocker is the program's all-time leader in goals (175) and points (230) while ranking second in shots (380) and fourth in ground balls (191). She was the first Mount player to register at least 40 goals in a season three times in her career and now is one of only two players to turn the trick after Katelyn Catanese accomplished the feat last season. She scored the second (56, 1997) and third (54, 1996) most goals in a single season and led the nation in 1997 with 75 points to be named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference co-Player of the Year. The Mount was 32-29 in the first four seasons as a program including winning the MAAC 1997 and 1998.

home sweet home, emmitsburg... Mount St. Mary's is 74-50 at home in its 15 seasons. In the past five campaigns, the Mount is 42-18 in Emmitsburg, including 26-3 against league opponents in that stretch. The Mount moved into the Waldron Family Stadium in 2006 and the squad is 14-9 in its new home.

all-time mark... Mount St. Mary's is 126-122 all-time in 15 seasons, including 74-50 at home, 49-65 on the road and 3-8 at a neutral site. The Mount is also 55-25 in the Northeast Conference play. The squad also boasts a 14-0 mark in the MAAC after winning the league in 1997 and 1998.