MOUNT ST. MARY'S (3-5-2, 1-0 NEC) at MONMOUTH (6-4, 3-0 NEC)
Friday, October 7, 7 pm
The Great Lawn, West Long Branch, N.J.
MOUNT ST. MARY'S (3-5-2, 1-0 NEC) at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON (4-5-1, 1-2 NEC)
Sunday, October 2, 1:00 p.m.
University Stadium, Teaneck, N.J.
Mount Update: Mount St. Mary's opened Northeast Conference play with a split in a pair of home games last weekend. On Friday, Alicia Miller made 10 saves to lead the Mount to a 1-0 win over Long Island. Sadie Winship scored in the 68th minute to propel the Mount to victory. On Sunday, the Mount was not able to generate much offense in a 1-0 loss to Wagner. Miller made four saves in the game as the Mountaineers were outshot, 11-to-5.
About the Hawks: Monmouth leads the Northeast Conference with a 3-0 league record after a 2-0 home win over Wagner on Tuesday night. Monique Plescia scored both goals in the game for the Hawks, who have won six of their past seven games to move to 6-4 overall and 3-0 in the NEC. Plescia is teid with Courtney Snyder with the team lead with five goals while Dana Costello leads the team in scoring with 13 points (4g, 5a). Costello assisted on both of Plescia's goals against Wagner. In goal, three keepers (Jocelyn McCoy (5GP, 0.86 GAA, 18 SV), Ashley Lewis (4GP, 1.00 GAA, 11 SV) and Ally Mancino (3GP, 1.60 GAA, 11 SV)) have split the starts.
The All-Time Series with Monmouth: The Mount and Monmouth have battled to a tie in each of the past two seasons. Monmouth holds a 12-3-2 lead in the all-time series, but the Mount is 1-1-2 over the past four years against the Hawks. The Mount's last win over the Hawks was a 1-0 victory in 2007 behind Anna Lebo's 19-save effort. The Mount is 1-6-1 all-time at Monmouth, having scored just one goal (in 2007) in the eight games.
Year-by-Year Results vs. Monmouth
10-08-95: Monmouth 2, Mount St. Mary's 0, Away
10-05-96: Monmouth 2, Mount St. Mary's 0, Home
10-05-97: Monmouth 5, Mount St. Mary's 0, Away
11-07-97: Monmouth 1, Mount St. Mary's 0, Neutral
10-08-88: Mount St. Mary's 2, Monmouth 1 (ot), Home
10-08-99: Monmouth 1, Mount St. Mary's 0, Away
10-06-00: Monmouth 2, Mount St. Mary's 1 (ot), Home
09-28-01: Monmouth 2, Mount St. Mary's 0, Away
10-04-02: Mount St. Mary's 1, Monmouth 0, Home
10-29-03: Monmouth 1, Mount St. Mary's 0, Away
10-03-04: Monmouth 2, Mount St. Mary's 1 (ot), Home
10-06-05: Monmouth 5, Mount St. Mary's 0, Away
10-22-06: Monmouth 1, Mount St. Mary's 0, Home
11-04-07: Mount St. Mary's 1, Monmouth 0, Away
10-25-08: Monmouth 5, Mount St. Mary's 0, Home
09-29-09: Mount St. Mary's 0, Monmouth 0, Away
09-28-10: Mount St. Mary's 1, Monmouth 1, Home
Home: 2-5-1 Away: 1-6-1 Neutral: 0-1
Last Meeting with the Hawks: Mount St. Mary's opened Northeast Conference play with a 1-1 tie against visiting Monmouth last year at Waldron Family Stadium. Kelly Baker gave the Mount a 1-0 lead five minutes into the second half when she blocked a clearing attempt by a Monmouth defender near the top of the penalty box, corralled the loose ball, and beat Monmouth goalkeeper Lia Fierro. Mount St. Mary's had a chance to extend the lead with just under eight minutes left. Freshman Ragan Cote crossed the ball to the middle to Kaylyn Mahon, who had her point-blank shot denied by Fierro. The Hawks nearly tied the game with 2:54 left when Kim Malecki's shot from the far left grazed the crossbar. Monmouth continued to press forward and was rewarded when Dana Costello received a flick pass from Malecki in the middle of the box and was able to chip the shot past Mount keeper Alicia Miller for the equalizing goal with 1:48 left in the game. The Mount held a 16-to-11 advantage in shots in the game, including a 5-to-2 margin in the overtime periods. Monmouth held a 6-to-2 edge in corner kicks. Miller had a pair of saves in the game for the Mount while Fierro made five stops for the Hawks.
About the Knights: Fairleigh Dickinson moved to 4-5-1 overall and 1-2-0 in the Northeast Conference with a 2-0 win over Central Connecticut State on Sunday. Loren Rich and Rashidah Sherman each scored in the victory over the Blue Devils. Lisa-Marie Curtis leads FDU with a pair of goals while Shermand has a goal and two assists on the year. Sage Dovale has played in seven games in goal with a 1.52 goals against average and 34 saves.
The All-Time Series with Fairleigh Dickinson: Fairleigh Dickinson holds a 7-3-1 advantage in the all-time series that began in 2000. The Knights have won three of the past four matchups, including a 1-0 win in Emmitsburg last season. The Mountaineers earned a 3-1 win at FDU in 2009.
Year-by-Year Results vs. Fairleigh Dickinson
10-08-00: Mount St. Mary's 3, Fairleigh Dickinson 2 (ot), Home
09-03-01: Fairleigh Dickinson 3, Mount St. Mary's 0, Away
11-03-02: Fairleigh Dickinson 3, Mount St. Mary's 0, Home
09-21-03: Fairleigh Dickinson 1, Mount St. Mary's 0, Away
10-08-04: Mount St. Mary's 0, Fairleigh Dickinson 0 (2ot), Home
10-23-05: Fairleigh Dickinson 1, Mount St. Mary's 0, Away
10-01-06: Mount St. Mary's 4, Fairleigh Dickinson 2, Home
10-14-07: Fairleigh Dickinson 3, Mount St. Mary's 1, Away
10-03-08: Fairleigh Dickinson 1, Mount St. Mary's 0, Home
10-30-09: Mount St. Mary's 3, Fairleigh Dickinson 1, Away
10-17-10: Fairleigh Dickinson 1, Mount St. Mary's 0, Home
Home: 2-3-1 Away: 1-4-0
Last Meeting: Fairleigh Dickinson edged the Mount, 1-0, last year in Emmitsburg. Goalkeeper Amanda Kitzmiller made three saves in her first start of the season for the Mount. Stephanie Austin scored the game-winning goal in the 75th minute to pace FDU to the win. Stephanie Tanzi made three saves for FDU to record the shutout.
Miller Named NEC Defensive Player of the Week: Mount St. Mary's senior goalkeeper Alicia Miller was been named the Adidas/Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Monday. Miller had a 0.50 goals against average and a .933 save percentage for the Mount last week. She opened the weekend with a shutout in the Mount's 1-0 victory against defending NEC regular season champion Long Island. She made 10 saves in the game and the shutout was the 10th of her Mount career, matching Anna Lebo's (2004-07) school record. Miller followed with four saves in the Mount's 1-0 loss to Wagner on Sunday.
Defense Shining: The Mount has been solid on the defensive end this season, holding the opposition to one goal or less in nine of the 10 games this year. The Mountaineers are second in the NEC in goals against average (1.03), tied for first in goals allowed (11) and first in the league in total saves (71).
Starting NEC Play on the Right Foot: The Mount's opened Northeast Conference play with a win for the first time since 2002 with its 1-0 victory over Long Island on September 30. The last time the Mount opened conference play with a win was a 1-0 decision over Saint Francis (Pa.) on September 10, 2002.
Record Breaker: Senior goalkeeper Alicia Miller is rewriting the Mount's goalkeeper records this season. Miller holds career records at the Mount for saves (388), goalie games played (63), minutes played (5,555) while she is tied for the school marks for shutouts (10) and wins (15). For the season, she has played every minute in goal for the Mount, posting a 1.03 goals against average and a .863 save percentage. Miller leads the NEC in save percentage (.863) and saves per game (6.90) while she is third in goals against average (1.03).
Extra Time: The Mount has gone to overtime in five of 10 games this year. The Mount defeated Rider (1-0), lost to Saint Joseph's (1-0) and Saint Peter's (1-0) and tied American (1-1) and Bucknell (1-1) in overtime games this season. The Mountaineers are now 4-7-8 in overtime games under head coach Tom Gosselin.
PK's: Kelly Baker scored on a penalty kick in the first half of the Mount's 2-1 win at Iona. It was the Mount's first goal on a penalty kick since Kelli Devine scored against East Tennessee State on September 16, 2005.
Historic Win: The Mount's 1-0 overtime victory over Rider was just the second in a season opener for the Mount women's soccer team. It was also the first time in program history the team has won its season opener on the road. The Mount is now 2-18 all-time in season openers with the other victory coming against Delaware State (10-0) in 2005.
Clean Sheets: Senior goalkeeper Alicia Miller posted her 10th career shutout in the Mount's 1-0 win over Long Island. The 10 shutouts are tied with Anna Lebo (2004-07) for the school's all-time record.
Winship Moving Up Scoring List: Senior forward Sadie Winship scored in the 68th minute to lead the Mount to a 1-0 win over Long Island. It was Winship's 11th career goal, moving her into ninth place on the Mount's all-time goal list.
Doubling Up: Courtney Zingle, a second team All-Northeast Conference pick in softball, and Meaghan Conlon, a member of the Mount's women's lacrosse team, each made their debuts in a Mount women's soccer uniform at Towson. Zingle, who hit .338 as a senior last season for the Mount softball team, is a fifth-year senior. Conlon, a junior, had nine goals and four assists while starting in all 18 games for the Mount women's lacrosse team last year.
Preseason Poll: The Mount was picked to finish 10th in the annual Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches poll.
Head Coach Tom Gosselin: Mount St. Mary's head coach Tom Gosselin is in his fifth season at the helm of the Mount's women's soccer program.
Up Next: Mount St. Mary's visits Robert Morris on October 14 before returning home to play Saint Francis (Pa.) on October 16.
