EMMITSBURG, Md. - The Mount St. Mary's women's lacrosse team will battle top seed and Quinnipiac h in the Northeast Conference (NEC) Championship Game at the Quinnipiac Field Hockey/Lacrosse Turf Field on Sunday. Game time is 12 p.m. The winner of the match moves on to play Navy, the winner of the Patriot League, on May 1 in Annapolis, Md. The Midshipmen defeated Colgate 15-14 by scoring the final five goals of Patriot League Championship Game on Saturday.

Prices are $8 for adults and $4 for those under 18/senior citizens. NEC students with a college ID and those under 10 years of age will be admitted free of charge. Fans unable to attend the tournament will be able to watch all the action free of charge at northeastconference.tv. In addition, Quinnipiac will also be running live stats for the tournament at quinnipiacbobcats.com.

The third-seeded Mountaineers (8-10) advanced to the championship game after defeating second-seed Robert Morris 13-8 on Friday to become the first No. 3 seed in league history to win a game in the tournament. Senior Nicole Price (White Hall, Md./North Harford) registered a natural hat trick in a span of 102 seconds to break at 6-all standstill and finished the match with four goals and one assist. Junior Jen Semler (Baltimore, Md./Perry Hall) added three goals and an assist while junior Esther Rufolo (Woodstock, Md./Chapelgate Christian Academy) chipped in a tally and two assists. Junior goalkeeper Brigid McTavish (Mount Airy, Md./South Carroll) made nine saves for the Mount. The Bobcats (12-4) defeated No. 4 Sacred Heart 18-9 to move on to its fourth-straight league championship game. Junior Lauren Matuszczak paced Quinnipiac with four goals and six assists. Junior Jennifer Skipper added five markers while junior Devon Gibney registered two goals and three helpers. Junior goalkeeper Noelle Martello turned away 13 shots for the Bobcats.

The Mount is fueled by Semler, a junior midfielder and All-NEC first-team selection in 2011, who leads the team with 37 goals and 15 assists for 52 points. Price, a senior midfielder, ranks second on the team with 37 tallies and eight assists for 45 points while Rufolo, a junior midfielder and a two-time All-NEC honoree, is third on the team with 35 goals and six assists for 41 points. Rufolo leads the team with 51 draw controls. Senior defender Aly Jost (Abington, Md./Bel Air), a four-time All-NEC first-team selection and 2009 and 2011 NEC Defensive Player of the Year, anchors the defense with 42 ground balls an 16 caused turnovers along with 46 draw controls while freshman defender Gabe Little (Hampstead, Md./North Carroll) has a team-high 17 caused turnovers. Brigid McTavish has 133 saves, a 10.82 goals against average and a .412 save percentage.

Quinnipiac is led by junior midfielder Marissa Caroleo, the NEC Player of the Year, who leads the team with 50 goals and seven assists for 57 points. Matuszcak, a midfielder, ranks second on the squad with 30 tallies and 24 assists for 54 points while Gibney, a midfielder, is third with 32 goals and 14 assists for 46 points. Senior D Kaitlyn Kelly, the 2010 NEC Defensive Player of the Year, fuels the defense with 35 ground balls and 22 caused turnovers. Martello has 152 saves, a 9.94 goals against average and a .512 save percentage.

The tilt between the Mount and the Bobcats marks the 18th meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1998 season, including the fourth time the two squads have met in the NEC Tournament. Mount St. Mary's leads the series 9-8, but the Bobcats have won the last six meetings in the matchup. Quinnipiac has won two of three meetings in the NEC Tournament, but this marks the first time the two teams will meet in the championship game.

The Bobcats won the regular season meeting 11-8 on Apr. 21 in Emmitsburg. Quinnipiac scored six of the final eight goals to come from behind to defeat Mount St. Mary's. Semler paced the Mount with two goals and two assists while Price and redshirt sophomore midfielder Kaitlyn Larrimore, an All-Rookie team selection, each had a hat trick. McTavish made eight saves in the loss. Matuszcak fueled the Bobcats with three goals and three assists. Gibney added two goals and two assists while senior attacker Christine Sinnigen added two tallies. Martello turned away nine shots in the winning effort.

The Mountaineers are making their ninth-straight trip and 13th conference tournament appearance overall. The Mount is 8-10 in the league postseason, including tournament crowns in 2004 and 2005. The Mountaineers also advanced to the NEC Championship Game in 2003 and 2007 and are 2-2 in the league title match. Mount St. Mary's is coach by first-year head coach B.J. Lucey, who has guided the squad to an 8-10 record and will be coaching her first NEC Championship Game on Sunday.

The Bobcats are making their eighth appearance in the NEC Tournament and are looking for their first NEC Tournament Championship. Quinnipiac has participated in the league championship game for the fourth-straight year and are 4-7 all-time in the NEC Tournament. The Bobcats are coached by Danie Caro, who has guided the Hamden program to a 69-45 record in her seven seasons at Quinnipiac. The 2008 Coach of the Year is looking for her first NEC Championship crown.