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GAME 5: Iona (3-2) at Mount St. Mary's (0-4)
WHEN: Sat, Mar. 10, 2012, 4 p.m.
WHERE: Emmitsburg, Md./Waldron Family Stadium
SERIES INFORMATION: Series Tied 0-0
LAST MEETING: N/A
FIRST MEETING: 3/10/12
LAST MOUNT WIN: N/A
opening draw... Saturday's game between Mount St. Mary's and Iona marks the first-ever meeting between the two programs. The Mount is 22-4 against teams from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (Fairfield [3-4], Manhattan [10-0], Marist [2-0], Niagara [3-0], Siena [4-0]).
the word on the gaels… Iona comes into the contest 3-2 after defeating Central Connecticut State 7-3 on Sunday. The Gaels are 3-0 against the Northeast Conference this season with wins against Sacred Heart, LIU Brooklyn and the Blue Devils. Junior A Kylie Gregory leads the team with 12 goals and six assists for 18 points. Sophomore M Nina Venziale is second on the squad with 10 goals and three assists for 13 points and sophomore A Brenna Lade ranks third with eight goals and four assists for 12 points. Senior D Amber Zimmerlink paces the team with 13 ground balls and eight caused turnovers. Junior GK Nancy Ibrahim has 23 saves, a 9.79 goals against average and a .489 save percentage.
last time out… Drexel defeated Mount St. Mary's 15-0 in non-conference women's lacrosse action on Wednesday. Brigid McTavish had five saves for the Mount while Meaghan Conlon posted three ground balls, two draw controls and a caused turnover. Lindsay Diaz notched three draw controls, a ground ball and a caused turnover with Esther Rufolo and Kaitlyn Larrimore each had three shots in the loss.
next on tap... Mount St. Mary's continues its three-game homestand against Longwood on Monday before concluding the home stretch against Virginia Tech on Mar. 17. The Mount will play five of its next eight games at Waldron Family Stadium.
on the defense… Senior Meaghan Conlon leads the team with six caused turnovers while graduate student Nicole Price fuels the squad with nine ground balls and ranks second with four caused turnovers. Sophomore Lindsay Diaz leads the team with 16 draw controls, ranks second with seven ground balls and third with three caused turnovers while fellow sophomore Gabe Little has two caused turnovers along with freshman Erin Seipp. Senior goalkeeper Brigid McTavish has 35 saves, a 14.85 goals against average and a .375 save percentage.
larri wary no more… Redshirt sophomore Kaitlyn Larrimore leads the team with five goals this season. The redshirt sophomore has posted 15 markers over her last eight games dating back to last year. Larrimore had nine goals and one assist for 10 points in the first 19 games of her career.
collegiate debuts… Freshmen Morgan Dalton, Melissa Cox, Megan Gluck, Hannah Gutcher and Erin Seipp each made their collegiate debut in the season opener on Feb. 22. Cox and Seipp each made their debut in the starting lineup and Seipp notched her first collegiate tally in the game against Johns Hopkins.
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 started the season at home against Johns Hopkins (L, 18-8) 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 program history and the Mount will play Temple (L, 3-12) for only the second time. Columbia (L, 5-14), Drexel (L, 0-15) 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… The Mount is 59-52 all-time in the month of March. The squad is 37-16 at home, but just 22-36 away from Emmitsburg. Mount St. Mary's will play five of its eight games in the month at Waldron Family Stadium.
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, who registered three goals and two assists this season, 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, who has registered four goals and an assist for a team-best five points this season, 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, who registered a goal and an assist against Johns Hopkins in the season opener, 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.
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 127 draws. The senior can move into second place with 21 draw controls and is 40 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 66 goals in her career and needs 20 goals to join the Top-10. The senior can also become the ninth player in team history with 100 tallies with 34 goals this season. Senior Jen Semler has 18 career assists and can crack the Top-10 in that category with 19 helpers this season.
mctavish on the move in the net... Senior Brigid McTavish ranks second in program history in career minutes played (3098.02) 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 fourth in career saves with 422. Next on the list is Kathryn Harrington (449, 1999-00).
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 80-57 at home in its 17 seasons. In the past five campaigns, the Mount is 48-25 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 26-21 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 8-15 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 139-142 all-time in 17 seasons, including 81-57 at home, 54-76 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.
