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GAME 1: Johns Hopkins (1-0) at Mount St. Mary's (0-0)
WHEN: Wed, Feb. 22, 2012, 4 p.m.
WHERE: Waldron Family Stadium, Emmitsburg, Md.
SERIES INFORMATION: Johns Hopkins leads 8-0
LAST MEETING: Johns Hopkins (17-4) 2-23-11
FIRST MEETING: Johns Hopkins (15-8) 3-19-97
LAST MOUNT WIN: N/A
opening draw... Wednesday's game between Mount St. Mary's and Johns Hopkins marks the ninth meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1997 season. The Blue Jays have won the previous eight matches, including a 14-4 decision last year in Baltimore.
the word on the blue jays… Johns Hopkins comes into the contest 1-0 after defeating George Mason 19-6 on Saturday. Senior A Candace Rossi paced the Blue Jays with five goals against the Patriots. Senior A Colleen McCaffrey added four goals and one assist while sophomore M Sammy Cermack registered a tally and four helpers in the contest. Junior GK Cosette Larsch made five saves in the season opener.
last time we met... Johns Hopkins downed Mount St. Mary's 17-4 on Feb. 23, 2011. Esther Rufolo and Mary MacAdam each recorded two goals for the Mount in the loss. Candice Rossi paced the Blue Jays with five goals and one assist. Colleen McCaffrey added three tallies and an assist while Rachel Ballatori chipped in two markers and an assist in the winning effort. Brigid McTavish made nine saves for Mount St. Mary's while Cosette Larash turned away four shots for Johns Hopkins.
next on tap... After the game against Johns Hopkins, Mount St. Mary's will hit the road for three games, starting at Temple on Saturday. The Mount will return to Waldron Family Stadium against Iona on Mar. 10.
season openers… Mount St. Mary's is 4-12 in season openers, including 1-4 on the road. The Mount has lost its last 10 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 be at home for the first time since falling 11-10 in overtime to Lehigh on Feb. 22, 2009.
preseason poll… The Mount St. Mary's women's lacrosse team has been picked third in the Northeast Conference. Quinnipiac, the defending regular season and tournament champion, picked up six first-place votes to be selected as the preseason favorite. Robert Morris was picked second in the poll while the Mount nabbed two first-place votes to come in at No. 3. Monmouth and Sacred Heart each grabbed the final two first-place nods to finish fourth and fifth while Bryant, Central Connecticut State, Saint Francis (Pa.), Wagner and LIU Brooklyn rounded out the 10-team poll.
local rivalries... Mount St. Mary's will play a pair of local teams this season. The squad will start the season at home against Johns Hopkins today and will end the non-conference slate on the road at George Washington on Mar. 19.
fresh schedule... Mount St. Mary's will be playing three teams for the first time in prpgram history and the Mount will play Temple (Feb. 25) for only the second time. Columbia (Feb. 29), Drexel (Mar. 7) and Iona (Mar. 10) are on the schedule for the first time. The Mount will play four games at Waldron Family Stadium and four on the road during the non-conference slate.
aye, aye captain… Graduate student Nicole Price and seniors Brigid McTavish and Esther Rufolo have been named captains for the 2012 season.
in the month… Mount St. Mary's is 3-15 in the month of February. The squad is 1-5 at home, 2-9 on the road and 0-1 on a neutral site. The Mount will be playing a match in February for the fifth-straight season. The Mountaineers did not play a game in the second month of year before 2003.
all-conference returners… The Mountaineers return seniors Esther Rufolo and Jen Semler, who both were named to the All-NEC first team in 2011. Rufolo is a two-time All-NEC performer after being selected to the All-NEC second team in 2010 while Semler was named to the Synapse Sports Honor Roll for the week of Mar. 29-Apr. 4, 2011. Sophomore Kaitlyn Larrimore was named to the All-Rookie team. The sophomore was also named the NEC Rookie of the Week for the last week of the season in 2011.
the semlinator... Senior Jen Semler is the Mount's top returner on offense after leading the team with 33 goals and 15 assists for 48 points. The senior had a breakout season last year after posting 13 goals and two assists for 15 points in her first two season in Emmitsburg. The 2011 All-NEC first-team selection recorded 11 multi-goal performances as a junior, including three four-goal performances, five hat tricks and three two-tally matches.
the price is right... Graduate student Nicole Price was the team's second-leading scorer in 2011 after posting 37 goals and eight assists for 45 points. Price registered 12 multi-goal performances after scoring two goals in a game twice, three goals three times and four goals three times on the year. Price only scored one goal against Sacred Heart, but her tally was the decisive marker to propel the Mount into the NEC Tournament. The graduate student then scored four goals to help the Mount beat Robert Morris and advance to the NEC Championship Game. Price returned to the team after taking a year off to go to Snowboarding School in Colorado. Similar to teammate Jen Semler, Price had a breakout season last year after tallying six goals and one assist as a sophomore. She was a member of the women's basketball team as a freshman before joining the women's lacrosse team as a sophomore.
the roof... the rufolo is on fire... Senior Esther Rufolo paced the team last season with 52 draw controls and ranked third in scoring with 36 goals and six assists for 41 points. Rufolo posted nine multi-goal performances as a junior, including a career-high six markers against Monmouth. She also recorded a five-goal game, three four-tally performances and three games with two goals.
on the defense… Sophomore Gabe Little is the squad's top returning defender after making 17 caused turnovers as a freshman along with 29 ground balls. Sophomore Lindsay Diaz had 14 caused miscues and senior Esther Rufolo registered 13 caused turnovers. In goal, senior Brigid McTavish returns after recording 136 saves, an 11.04 goals against average and a .400 save percentage.
new to the mountain… Head coach B.J. Johnson has added six newcomers to the team in 2012. Sophomore Hannah Gutcher and freshmen Melissa Cox, Morgan Dalton, Megan Gluck, Erin Seipp and Hayley Tomilson have joined the team this season.
a big draw in team history... Senior Esther Rufolo is making her climb on the all-time career draw control list, sitting in third place with 120 draws. The senior can move into second place with 28 draw controls and is 47 draws away from Sarah Schaffner's (1997-00) program record of 167. She has posted two of the Top-10 marks on the single-season chart for draw controls after grabbing 52 (third most) in 2011 and 47 (sixth most) in 2010.
moving in on the offensive Top-10… Senior Esther Rufolo has 65 goals in her career and needs 21 goals to join the Top-10. The senior can also become the ninth player in team history with 100 tallies with 35 goals this season. Senior Jen Semler has 17 career assists and can crack the Top-10 in that category with 20 helpers this season.
mctavish on the move in the net... Senior Brigid McTavish ranks second in program history in career minutes played (2859.35) with Naomi Campano Radio holding the program record (4342.50, 2002-05). McTavish is also second in wins (21) with Campano Radio holding that mark as well with 41. The senior is fifth in career saves with 387. Next on the list is Jane Karger (412, 2005-08).
the royal blood line... Senior 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.
a family affair… Senior Jen Semler will play her senior season with her cousin Melissa Cox. The two might be on the field at the same time, but on different sides of the field. Semler is an attacker and Cox in a defender.
the local crew... Mount St. Mary's has three players on its roster from Carroll County. Senior Meaghan Conlon (Eldersburg, Md.), senior Brigid McTavish (Mount Airy, Md.) and sophomore Gabe Little (Hampstead, Md.) all hail from the neighboring county.
home sweet home... Mount St. Mary's is 80-56 at home in its 17 seasons. In the past five campaigns, the Mount is 48-24 in Emmitsburg, including 32-5 against league opponents in that stretch. The Mount moved into the Waldron Family Stadium in 2006 and the squad is 26-20 in its new home.
from lucey to johnson… Women's lacrosse head coach B.J. Johnson is in her second season in Emmitsburg. The Mount is 8-11 overall and 6-3 in Northeast Conference play under Johnson. Mount St. Mary's advanced to its fifth Northeast Conference Championship game in her first season. Johnson got married in the summer between her first and second seasons at the Mount.
all-time mark... Mount St. Mary's is 139-138 all-time in 17 seasons, including 81-56 at home, 54-72 on the road and 4-9 at a neutral site. The Mount is also 63-28 in the Northeast Conference play. The squad also boasts a 14-0 mark in the MAAC after winning the league in 1997 and 1998.
