Friday's game between Mount St. Mary's and Navy marks the first-ever meeting between the two programs. The Mount is 4-14 against the Patriot League all-time.

the word about the midshipmen... Navy is coming off a 17-4 season and advanced its first NCAA Tournament in its third season as a program. The Midshipmen returns four of their five top five scorers, including junior A Danielle Vivonetto who ranks second on the team with 62 points and six assists for 68 points. Senior A Caitlin Mandrin Hill ranked third on the squad with 33 goals and 29 assists for 62 points while senior M Katrina Neitsch was fourth with 31 tallies and 13 assists for 44 points. Junior M/D Kierstin King paced the defense with 41 ground balls and 25 assists. Junior GK Elaina Ponchione had 94 saves, an 8.69 goals against average and .418 save percentage.

season openers... Mount St. Mary's is 4-11 in season openers, including 3-7 on the road. The Mount has lost its last nine season openers and has not been victorious on the inaugural game of the year since downing Howard 14-9 on Mar. 1, 2001. The Mount will play a member of the Patriot League for the fourth-straight season after battling Lehigh in the last three openers.

punxsutawney phil says early spring... The season opener against Navy on Feb. 11 will be the earliest the Mount has opened a season in program history. Prior to this season, the earliest the Mountaineers opened a season was Feb. 14 against Vanderbilt at Gettysburg College. It will be the seventh time in program history the Mount will open the season in the second month of the new year.

in the month... Mount St. Mary's is 3-11 in the month of February. The squad is 1-4 at home, 2-6 on the road and 0-1 on a neutral site. The Mount will be playing a match in February for the fourth-straight season. The Mountaineers did not play a game in the second month of year before 2003.

next on tap... The Mount remains on the road against an in-state opponent when the squad travels to Johns Hopkins on Feb. 23. The squad will open its home slate against Temple on Feb. 27.

preseason poll... The Mount St. Mary's women's lacrosse team has been picked fourth in the Northeast Conference (NEC) Preseason Coaches Poll. Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart finished tied for the top spot in the poll to share the honor of preseason favorite. The Bobcats picked up three first-place votes while the defending regular season and tournament champion Pioneers grabbed two first-place nods. Monmouth picked up the most first-place votes with five, but finished third in the poll while the Mount and Robert Morris were tied for fourth. Wagner, Bryant, Saint Francis (Pa.), Long Island and Central Connecticut State rounded out the 10-team poll.

aly is all defense... Senior Aly Jost has been named to the All-Northeast Conference first team in her first three campaigns and was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2009. The senior has 129 ground balls in her career and can move into the Top-10 in ground balls with 27 ground balls. Jost is also close to moving into the Top-10 in career caused turnovers, currently standing at 67 caused miscues and needing three to move into the Top-10.

pompa pumps up the jam... Senior Lucy Pompa is making her move in the all-time career draw controls list. The senior currently stands in eighth place with 90 draws, needing 11 draw controls to move into seventh place and ahead of Kim Keene (100, 2001-04). Pompa ranked in the Top-4 in ground balls, caused turnovers and draw controls on the team in her sophomore and junior campaigns.

rufolo's a big draw... Junior Esther Rufolo posted the fourth-most draw controls in a single season with 47 draw controls last season. Rufolo currently sits in 11th place in program history with 68 career draws and can move ahead of Erica Hensley (69, 1997-00) with two draws and into ninth place and ahead of Leeann Robustelli (69, 2003-06).

mctavish on the move in the net... Junior Brigid McTavish ranks fifth in program history for career saves with 251 stops. Next on the list is Jane Karger (412, 2005-08). She also ranks fifth in minutes played with 1750.59. Next up is Randi Paige (2010.25, 1996-97) in fourth place. The junior also sits in fourth for wins as a goalkeeper with 13 and can move ahead of Jane Karger (17, 2005-08) with five victories.

about the coach... .J. Lucey begins her first season as head coach at Mount St. Mary's in 2011. Lucey comes to the Mount after serving as an assistant coach her alma mater, Penn State, from 2006-10. While at Penn State, she was involved in all aspects of the program, including recruiting, working with both the offense and defense, scouting and film breakdown. Lucey began her coaching career as an assistant coach at the College of New Jersey, helping lead the team to the Division III National Championship game in 2004. She was an assistant coach at Temple for two seasons (2004-05), helping the Owls win the Atlantic 10 regular season title in 2005. A 2003 graduate of Penn State, Lucey was earned Regional All-American honors in 2000 and 2001 as a midfielder with the Nittany Lions.

local rivalry... Once again this season, the Mount schedule will have a local feel to it when the Mountaineers play four teams from the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. The squad will open the season on Feb. 11 with its first-ever meeting against Navy before traveling to Johns Hopkins on Feb. 23. Mount St. Mary's will host UMBC on Mar. 19 and George Washington on Mar. 2'.

conference honors... The Mount returns two players that received All-Northeast Conference recognition last season. Senior Aly Jost earned her third-straight All-NEC first-team selection in 2010 after being named the NEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2009. Junior Esther Rufolo earned a spot on the All-NEC second team in 2010 while senior Lucy Pompa was an All-NEC second-teamer in 2009.

the mount royal blood line... Junior 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 the late Jack Sullivan, the Mount's men's basketball all-time leading scorer with 2,672 career points. Sullivan passed away in the fall of 2010.

the local crew... Mount St. Mary's has three players on its roster from Carroll County. Junior Meaghan Conlon (Eldersburg, Md.), junior Brigid McTavish (Mount Airy, Md.) and freshman Gabe Little (Hampstead, Md.) all hail from the neighboring country.

new to the mountain... Along with first-year head coach B.J. Lucey, freshmen Maggie Bathon, Annie Battista, Lindsay Diaz, Gabe Little, Shelby Lyles, Mary MacAdam, Bridget McGann, Lily O'Beirne and Aubrey Rubino join the team in 2011. Senior Nicole Price rejoins the squad after not playing last season.

home sweet home, emmitsburg... Mount St. Mary's is 77-51 at home in its 15 seasons. In the past five campaigns, the Mount is 45-19 in Emmitsburg, including 29-3 against league opponents in that stretch. The Mount moved into the Waldron Family Stadium in 2006 and the squad is 17-10 in its new home. The squad is 5-2 this season at home, its best mark since the 2007 team went 6-2 in Emmitsburg.

all-time mark... Mount St. Mary's is 131-126 all-time in 16 seasons, including 77-51 at home, 51-67 on the road and 3-9 at a neutral site. The Mount is also 59-26 in the Northeast Conference play. The squad also boasts a 14-0 mark in the MAAC after winning the league in 1997 and 1998.