GAME 15: Mount St. Mary's (5-9, 4-2 NEC) at Saint Francis (Pa.) (4-10, 1-6 NEC)
WHEN: Sun, Apr. 17, 2011, 12 p.m.
WHERE: DeGol Field, Loretto, Pa.

SERIES INFORMATION: Mount leads 8-0
LAST MEETING: Mount (14-8) 3-26-10
FIRST MEETING: Mount (24-2) 3-29-02
LAST SAINT FRANCIS (PA.) WIN: N/A

opening draw... Sunday's match between Mount St. Mary's and Saint Francis (Pa.) marks the ninth meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 2002 season. The Mount leads the series 8-0, including a 14-8 win last season in Emmitsburg.

the word about the red flash... Saint Francis (Pa.) comes into the contest 4-10 overall and 1-6 in Northeast Conference play after falling 16-9 to Monmouth on Friday. Kate Simmons ranks leads the team with 29 tallies and 19 assists for 48 points. Simmons also fuels the team with 51 draw controls and 13 caused turnovers while ranking second with 30 ground balls. Danielle Conwell ranks second with 37 goals and seven assists for 44 points while Kara Ledgerwood is third with 23 goals and 15 helpers for 38 points. Danielle Pokusa has 164 saves, an 11.77 goals against average and a .497 save percentage.

last time we met... Emily Kirby posted a career-high five goals and two assists to lift Mount St. Mary's past Saint Francis (Pa.) 14-8 on Mar. 26, 2010. Ashley Johnson added three markers and two assists while Jackie Kearney registered two goals and two assists in the winning effort. Kate Simmons paced the Red Flash with four goals and Catherine Helming chipped in two goals in the loss.

last time out... Robert Morris scored the final seven goals to rally from a four-goal deficit and defeat Mount St. Mary's 15-12 on Friday. Esther Rufolo paced the Mount with four goals while Mary MacAdam, Jen Semler, Nicole Price each scored two times and Alexis Salerno and Shelby Lyles each found the twine once. Brigid McTavish had 13 saves in the loss.

next on tap... The Mount returns to Waldron Family Stadium to face Quinnipiac on Thursday and Sacred Heart on Saturday. The Mountaineers will honor its seniors before the game against the Pioneers.

the state of the mount and the postseason... Mount St. Mary's currently sits in fifth place in the league with a 4-2 mark while Monmouth (5-1), Quinnipiac (5-1), Bryant (5-2) and Robert Morris (5-2) all are currently ahead of the Mount. The Top-4 teams in the league will advance to the postseason, but Bryant is not eligible until 2013 so the Mountaineers currently hold the No. 4 spot with three games left. Sacred Heart currently sits one game behind Mount St. Mary's at 3-3 and Wagner is 2-4. The Mount and the Pioneers will play the final game of the regular season on Saturday.

mctavish honored by the conference... Brigid McTavish was named the Northeast Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Week for the week of Mar. 28-Apr. 3. It is the second time in her career that she has earned the honor. McTavish anchored a suffocating Mount St. Mary's defense last week, allowing just nine goals in a pair of league wins.  She posted a 4.77 goals against average and .591 save percentage as the first place Mountaineers improved to 4-0 against NEC competition. McTavish turned away eight shots in a 10-6 win against Long Island on Friday and six more in a 13-4 victory over Wagner on Sunday. She also scooped up three ground balls against the Seahawks. 

semler receives national honor roll... Jen Semler was named to the Synapse Sports Honor Roll for the week of Mar. 29-Apr. 4.  It marks the fifth time in program history a Mount player has received recognition from the website formerly known as womenslacrosse.com. Semler posted seven goals and two assists for nine points in the week to help the Mount win a pair of Northeast Conference (NEC) games. The junior posted a hat trick in a 10-6 win against Long Island on Friday and four goals and two assists for a career-high six points in a 13-4 win against Wagner on Sunday. Semler converted a free-position attempt at 37:56 to give the Mountaineers the lead for good against the Blackbirds while also finding the twine at 44:38 and 55:50. In the second half against the Seahawks, the junior had a hand in the Mount's first four goals in the second half after scoring the first two markers in the stanza at 34:35 and 38:08 before handing out an assist at 38:59 and capping a 4-0 run with her fourth goal of the afternoon at 53:11.

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. The junior has posted 27 goals and six assists for 33 points in her last 10 games.

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. Lucey is the fourth coach in program history to win the league opener with a 9-5 win 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.

the new class of scorers... Senior Nicole Price, junior Jen Semler and sophomore Kaitlyn Larrimore have combined for 60 goals and 15 assists for 75 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 team with 26 goals and seven assists for 33 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 leads the team with 28 tallies and seven assists for 35 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 six markers and one assist for seven points. The sophomore had two goals in six games before an injury cut her season short after six games last year.

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 team with 26 markers and seven assists for 33 points.

in the month... The Mount is 74-60 all-time in the month of April. The squad is 41-21 at home, but just 33-39 away from home.

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.

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 moved into the Top-10 for career ground balls with three ground balls against Long Island on Apr. 1 and now stands eighth with 162, one away from Sarah Schaffner (163, 1997-00). Jost recorded two caused turnovers against Robert Morris on Apr. 15 to move into the eighth with 79 caused miscues. Next on the list is Christina Fee (81, 1998-01). The senior has a career-high 31 draw controls this season and now has 69 for her career, needing nine to break the Top-10 in that category.

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 113 draws, needing seven 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 sixth place in program history with 103 career draws, one draw behind former teammate Jackie Kearney (104, 2007-10) and three away from Erin LaMotte (106, 2002-04). The junior posted a career-high six goals against Monmouth on Apr. 8.

mctavish on the move in the net... Junior Brigid McTavish ranks fifth in program history for career saves with 356 stops. Next on the list is Jane Karger (412, 2005-08). She also ranks second in minutes played with 2584.10. Next up is the all-time leader Naomi Campano Radio (4342:50). The junior also sits third in wins with 18, two shy of Randi Paige (20, 1996-97).

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 79-55 at home in its 15 seasons. In the past five campaigns, the Mount is 47-23 in Emmitsburg, including 31-4 against league opponents in that stretch. The Mount moved into the Waldron Family Stadium in 2006 and the squad is 25-19 in its new home.

all-time mark... Mount St. Mary's is 136-136 all-time in 16 seasons, including 80-55 at home, 53-71 on the road and 3-9 at a neutral site. The Mount is also 61-27 in the Northeast Conference play. The squad also boasts a 14-0 mark in the MAAC after winning the league in 1997 and 1998.