GAME 8: Mount St. Mary's (1-6) at George Washington (5-2)
WHEN: Mon, Mar. 19, 2012, 4 p.m.
WHERE: Mount Vernon Athletic Complex, Washington, D.C.
SERIES INFORMATION: George Washington leads 7-3
LAST MEETING: George Washington (16-4) 3-21-11
FIRST MEETING: Mount (11-9) 3-13-02
LAST MOUNT WIN: (15-14 2ot) 3-10-10
opening draw... Monday's game between Mount St. Mary's and George Washington marks the 11th meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 2002 season. The Colonials have won seven of the last eight meetings in the matchup to take a 7-3 advantage in the series. George Washington defeated the Mount 15-8 last season in Emmitsburg while the Mountaineers' last win in the series was a 15-14 double overtime win in 2010.
the word on the colonials… George Washington comes into the contest 5-2 after an 11-7 victory against Villanova on Wednesday. Senior M Sarah Phillips leads the team with 16 goals and 19 assists for 35 points. Senior A Megan Seidman is second with 19 tallies and 10 assists for 29 points while freshman A Addi Bolin is third with 11 goals and seven assists for 18 points. Phillips leads the defense with 10 caused turnovers while senior M Casey Disharoon has a team-high 14 ground balls and ranks second with nine caused miscues. Junior GK Jess Hicks has 40 saves, a 7.28 goals against average and a .500 save percentage.
last time we met… George Washington defeated Mount St. Mary's 16-4 on Mar. 21, 2011. Esther Rufolo paced the Mount with two goals while Jen Semler and Alexis Salerno each found the twine once in the loss. Sarah Phillips paced the Colonials with four goals and two assists. Mia Breheny added five tallies while Nicole Lacey posted three goals and two assists, and Megan Seidman chipped in two markers and two assists in the winning effort.
last time out… Virginia Tech defeated Mount St. Mary's 12-5 on Saturday. Kaitlyn Larrimore paced the Mount with a hat trick while Lindsay Diaz and Esther Rufolo each found the twine. Brigid McTavish made 14 saves in the loss.
next on tap... Monday's game at George Washington concludes the non-conference slate. The Mount will open up Northeast Conference play on Friday at home against Robert Morris and will also host Saint Francis (Pa.) on Sunday. The Mountaineers will play four of its first six league games at Waldron Family Stadium and then will play the final three games on the road.
non-conference to nec play…Mount St. Mary's went 10-10 in non-conference play in 2004 and 2005, but since that season the Mount is 13-44 in non-conference play, including 5-26 in the last four seasons. Despite the struggles in non-conference play, the Mount is 35-15 in NEC play since the 2005 season.
on the defense… Senior Meaghan Conlon leads the team with nine caused turnovers while sophomores Lindsay Diaz has a team-high 12 ground balls and 24 draw controls while ranking second with seven caused miscues. Sophomore Gabe Little ranks second with 11 ground balls and seven caused turnovers. Senior goalkeeper Brigid McTavish has 61 saves, a 14.22 goals against average and a .396 save percentage.
larri wary no more… Redshirt sophomore Kaitlyn Larrimore leads the team with 10 goals and two assists for 12 points this season. The redshirt sophomore has posted 20 markers and two assists over her last 11 games dating back to last year. Larrimore had nine goals and one assist for 10 points in the first 19 games of her career.
diaz on d and on o… Sophomore Lindsay Diaz ranks second on the team with six goals after posting six goals and two assists for eight points as a freshman. On the defensive side of the ball, Diaz leads the squad with 12 ground balls and 24 draw controls while ranking second with seven caused turnovers.
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. Dalton recorded her first career goal against Iona on Mar. 10 and Gluck had her first career tally against Longwood on Mar. 13.
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.
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 60-54 all-time in the month of March. The squad is 39-17 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 five goals and two assists this season, was the Mount's top returner on offense from last season 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 has four goals and an assist this season, 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 132 draws. The senior can move into second place with 16 draw controls and is 35 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 69 goals in her career and needs 17 goals to join the Top-10. The senior can also become the ninth player in team history with 100 tallies with 31 goals. Senior Jen Semler has 19 career assists and can crack the Top-10 in that category with 18 helpers.
mctavish on the move in the net... Senior Brigid McTavish ranks second in program history in career minutes played (3252.06) with Naomi Campano Radio holding the program record (4342.50, 2002-05). McTavish is also second in wins (22) with Campano Radio holding that mark as well with 41. The senior is fourth in career saves with 448. 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 82-59 at home in its 17 seasons. In the past five campaigns, the Mount is 49-27 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 27-23 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 9-17 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 140-144 all-time in 17 seasons, including 82-59 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.
