Mount St. Mary's (2-7, 1-0 NEC) at Central Connecticut State (5-4, 0-2 NEC)
WHEN: Sun, Mar. 27, 2011, 1 p.m.
WHERE: Arute Field, New Britain, Conn.

SERIES INFORMATION: Mount leads 11-0
LAST MEETING: Mount (16-5) 4-9-10
FIRST MEETING: Mount (24-13) 4-21-00
LAST CCSU WIN: N/A

opening draw... Sunday's match between Mount St. Mary's and Central Connecticut State marks the 12th meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 2000 season. The Mount leads the series 11-0, including a 16-5 decision last year in Emmitsburg.

the word about the blue devils... Central Connecticut State comes into the contest 5-4 overall and 0-2 in Northeast Conference play after falling 16-6 to Monmouth on Friday. Sophomore A/M Betsey Vendel leads the team with 16 goals and 19 assists for 35 points. Sophomore A Meaghan McCurry ranks second on the squad with 21 tallies and 12 assists for 33 points while senior M Michele Conway is third with 21 goals and five helpers for 26 points. Junior M Ashley Mara leads the defense with 15 ground balls and seven caused turnovers while Vendel has a team-high 30 draw controls. Junior GK Erin Delancey has 97 saves, a 13.67 goals against average and a .441 save percentage.

last time we met... Ashley Johnson, Meaghan Conlon and Esther Rufolo each registered four goals to lead Mount St. Mary's past Central Connecticut State 16-5 on Apr. 9, 2010. Johnson and Conlon scored two goals in each half while Rufolo posted one tally in the first stanza and three in the final frame. Johnson also had an assist to finish with five points while Conlon also registered five draw controls, three ground balls and two caused turnovers, and Rufolo also grabbed six draw controls in the contest. Jordan Certeza added one goal and four assists while Jackie Kearney recorded one tally and two assists in the winning effort. Michele Conway paced the Blue Devils with two goals, and Ashley Perkoski and Meghan McCurry each had a goal and an assist in the loss.

last time out... Jen Semler fueled an eight goal second half with a natural hat trick to lead Mount St. Mary's past Bryant 9-5 on Friday. Semler helped the Mount start league play win a victory after pacing the team with four goals and one assist. The junior scored the Mountaineers lone goal in the first half at 25:01 on a free-position attempt and then posted a natural hat trick in a span of six minutes and 28 seconds to give Mount St. Mary's the lead for good. Alexis Salerno notched her first hat trick of the season while Nicole Price added a tally and an assist and Brigid McTavish made seven saves and scooped up five ground balls in the winning effort.

next on tap... The Mount returns to Waldron Family Stadium for three home conference games against Long Island (Friday), Wagner (Apr.3) and Monmouth (Apr. 8).

the natural way... Junior Jen Semler notched a natural hat trick in the second half against Bryant on Mar. 25. It was the first time a Mount player turned the trick since Ashley Johnson against George Washington last season. Semler notched a career-best four goals in the contest against the Bulldogs and has registered at least three tallies in three of her last five matches.

nec openers... Mount St. Mary's is 11-3 in the Northeast Conference opener, including wins in seven out of the last eight years.

first head coaching victory... With the 12-11 win against Longwood on Mar. 8, head coach B.J. Lucey picked up her first career win as a head coach. Lucey earned her second win and first league win with a 9-5 decision against Bryant on Mar. 25.

collegiate firsts... Freshman Mary MacAdam posted her first collegiate goal against Johns Hopkins on Feb. 23 and finished with two tallies. Fellow freshman Lindsay Diaz notched her first collegiate score against Temple on Feb. 27 and also finished with two goals on the afternoon.

rufolo stepping up... Junior Esther Rufolo has posted 11 goals in three games of her last four. The junior registered a career-high five tallies against Bucknell on Mar. 16 and four markers against UMBC on Mar. 19. It was the seventh time Rufolo has scored three goals or more in a game in her career.

the new class of scorers... Senior Nicole Price, junior Jen Semler and sophomore Kaitlyn Larrimore have combined for 32 goals and nine assists for 41 points in 2011 after totally 16 goals and three assists for 19 points in their career coming into the season. Price ranks second on the Mount with 14 goals and three assists for 17 points in her senior campaign. The senior took the year off last year to attend snowboarding school after tallying six goals and one assist for seven points in her first year with the team in 2009. Semler paces the team with 14 tallies and five assists for 13 points after posting four goals and one assist for five points in each of her first two seasons in Emmitsburg. Larrimore is fourth on the team with four markers and one assist for five points. The sophomore had two goals in six games before an injury cut her season short after six games last year.

the first in the nation... The Mount St. Mary's-Navy season opener was also the first game on the women's lacrosse slate for the 2011 season. The match started an hour before George Mason at UMBC and Notre Dame at California. Esther Rufolo won the opening draw to kick start the 2011 women's lacrosse season.

nice return... Senior Nicole Price returned to the women's lacrosse team after taking the 2010 season off to go to snowboarding school. Price scored the Mount's first two goals of the season against Navy on Feb. 9. Price recorded six goals and one assist in the 2009 season. In her freshman year, Price was a member of the Mount women's basketball team and appeared in six games with two points and one rebound. The senior scored a career-high four goals against Longwood on Mar. 8 and ranks second on the squad with 14 markers and three assists for 17 points.

in the month... The Mount is 58-51 all-time in the month of March. The squad is 37-16 at home, but just 21-35 away from Emmitsburg. Mount St. Mary's will have four road games and two games at Waldron Family Stadium in the month.

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 148 ground balls in her career and can move into the Top-10 in ground balls with eight ground balls. Jost recorded two caused turnovers against High Point on Mar. 5 to move into the Top-10 with 74 caused miscues. Next on the list are Jacqui Ricca (78, 2004-07) and Michelle Coates (78, 1999-02) in eighth place.

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 fourth place with 106 draws, needing 14 draws to pass former teammate Katelyn Catanese (119, 2006-09) for third place. 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 ninth place in program history with 91 career draws, nine behind Kim Keene (100, 2001-04).

mctavish on the move in the net... Junior Brigid McTavish ranks fifth in program history for career saves with 309 stops. Next on the list is Jane Karger (412, 2005-08). She also ranks third in minutes played with 2290.59. Next up is Jane Karger (2405:45, 2005-08) in second place. The junior also sits in fourth for wins as a goalkeeper with 15 and can move ahead of Karger (17) with three victories.

about the coach... B.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 opened the season on Feb. 11 with its first-ever meeting against Navy before traveling to Johns Hopkins on Feb. 23. Mount St. Mary's also hosted UMBC on Mar. 19 and George Washington on Mar. 21.

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 77-54 at home in its 15 seasons. In the past five campaigns, the Mount is 45-22 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 23-18 in its new home.

all-time mark... Mount St. Mary's is 133-134 all-time in 16 seasons, including 77-54 at home, 53-70 on the road and 3-9 at a neutral site. The Mount is also 60-26 in the Northeast Conference play. The squad also boasts a 14-0 mark in the MAAC after winning the league in 1997 and 1998.