GAME 13: Monmouth (8-4, 3-1 NEC) at Mount St. Mary's (5-7, 4-0 NEC)
WHEN: Fri, Apr. 8, 2011, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Waldron Family Stadium, Emmitsburg, Md.

SERIES INFORMATION: Monmouth leads 16-8
LAST MEETING: Monmouth (11-7) 3-19-10
FIRST MEETING: Mount (8-7) 3-22-96
LAST MOUNT WIN: (10-9) 3-19-10

opening draw... Friday's game between Mount St. Mary's and Monmouth marks the 25th meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1996 season. Since the Mount defeated the Hawks 8-7 in the epic five overtime NEC Championship game in 2005, Monmouth has won five of the last seven meetings to take a 16-8 lead in the series. Nine of the last 11 matchups between the two teams have been decided by three goals or less. The Mount is 5-1 against the Hawks in the previous six meetings in Emmitsburg and posted its last win in the series was a 10-9 decision in 2009.

the word about the hawks... Monmouth comes into the contest 8-4 overall and 3-1 in Northeast Conference play after falling 19-9 to Rutgers on Tuesday. Senior A Rachel Feirstein leads the team with 24 goals and eight assists for 32 points. Senior A Molly O'Brien ranks second on the team with 20 tallies and 10 assists for 30 points while junior A Sam Lillo is third with 18 goals and nine helpers for 27 points. Senior M Carissa Franzi paces the defense with 32 ground balls and 22 caused turnovers while ranking fourth on the squad with 10 goals and nine assist for 19 points. Senior GK Kirby Mundorf has 103 saves, an 8.92 goals against average and a .490 save percentage.

last time we met... Monmouth defeated Mount St. Mary's 11-on Mar. 19, 2010. Esther Rufolo paced the Mount with three goals while Ashley Johnson added two tallies, and Emily Kirby and Lucy Pompa also found the twine in the loss. Molly O'Brien led the Hawks with three goals and one assist. Shawn Evans, Megan Brennan and Ali Pollock registered two goals apiece in the winning effort.

last time out... Jen Semler posted four goals and two assists to lead Mount St. Mary's past Wagner 13-4 on Sunday. Semler posted a goal and an assist in the first half and then nearly had her second natural hat trick in her last four matches in the second half. The junior scored the first two goals of the second half, assisted a goal and then found the twine again for the fourth time of the afternoon to have a hand in the first four tallies of the frame. Semler leads the team with 25 goals and seven assists for 32 points. Esther Rufolo added three goals and an assist for the Mount while Meaghan Conlon tallied two goals and an assist and Nicole Price found the twine twice. Brigid McTavish made five saves in the winning effort.

next on tap... Mount St. Mary's travels to Robert Morris on Friday and at Saint Francis (Pa.) on Sunday before returning home to face Quinnipiac (Apr. 21) and Sacred Heart (Apr. 23) to close out the regular season.

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 24 goals and six assists for 30 points in her last eight 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 54 goals and 15 assists for 69 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 23 goals and seven assists for 30 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 25 tallies and seven assists for 32 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 23 markers and seven assists for 30 points.

in the month... The Mount is 74-58 all-time in the month of April. The squad is 41-20 at home, but just 33-38 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 10th with 157, three away from Leeann Robustelli (160, 2003-06). Jost recorded two caused turnovers against High Point on Mar. 5 to move into the Top-10 with 76 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 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 ninth place in program history with 94 career draws, six 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 331 stops. Next on the list is Jane Karger (412, 2005-08). She also ranks second in minutes played with 2464.10. 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 79-54 at home in its 15 seasons. In the past five campaigns, the Mount is 47-22 in Emmitsburg, including 31-3 against league opponents in that stretch. The Mount moved into the Waldron Family Stadium in 2006 and the squad is 25-18 in its new home.

all-time mark... Mount St. Mary's is 136-134 all-time in 16 seasons, including 80-54 at home, 53-70 on the road and 3-9 at a neutral site. The Mount is also 61-26 in the Northeast Conference play. The squad also boasts a 14-0 mark in the MAAC after winning the league in 1997 and 1998.