GAME 9: Robert Morris (2-6) at Mount St. Mary's (1-7)
WHEN: Fri, Mar. 23, 2012, 4 p.m.
WHERE: Waldron Family Stadium, Emmitsburg, Md.

SERIES INFORMATION: Mount leads 6-2
LAST MEETING: Mount (13-8) 4-29-11
FIRST MEETING: Mount (20-2) 3-26-05
LAST ROBERT MORRIS WIN: (15-12) 4-15-11

opening draw... Friday's Northeast Conference opener between Mount St. Mary's and Robert Morris marks the ninth meeting in the series dating back to the 2005 season. The Mount leads the series 6-2, but the two teams have split the last four matches. The Colonials won the regular season meeting 15-12 last season in Moon Township while the Mountaineers defeated Robert Morris 13-8 in the NEC Semifinals.

the word on the colonials… Robert Morris comes into the contest 2-6 overall and 0-0 in Northeast Conference play after defeating Davidson 13-12 on Saturday. Sophomore M Talia Waskowicz leads the team with 15 goals and two assists for 17 points. Senior A Courtney Sicinski ranks second on the squad with nine tallies and seven assists for 16 points while freshman A Emma Baukhages (11 goals, three assists) and senior M Colleen O'Donnell (nine goals, five assists) are tied for third on the team with 14 points. O'Donnell also fuels the defense with 28 ground balls, 17 draw controls and 15 caused turnovers. Sophomore GK Kaitlin Pentz has 50 saves, a 13.41 goals against average and a .368 save percentage.

last time we met… Nicole Price registered a natural hat trick in a span of one minute and 42 seconds to lift Mount St. Mary's past No. 2 Robert Morris 13-8 in the NEC Semifinals on Apr. 29, 2011. Jen Semler added three goals and an assist. Esther Rufolo had a goal and two assists while Kaitlyn Larrimore found the twine twice. Brigid McTavish made nine saves in the winning effort. Elizabeth Sunseri paced Robert Morris with a hat trick while Kaleigh Gibbons added a tally and two helpers and Rachel Engel had two markers. Kaitlin Pentz turned away nine shots in the loss.

GAME 10: Saint Francis (Pa.) (1-6) at Mount St. Mary's (1-7)
WHEN: Sun, Mar. 25, 2012, 1 p.m.
WHERE: Waldron Family Stadium, Emmitsburg, Md.

SERIES INFORMATION: Mount leads 9-0
LAST MEETING: Mount (16-8) 4-17-11
FIRST MEETING: Mount (24-2) 3-29-02
LAST SAINT FRANCIS (PA.) WIN: N/A

opening draw... Sunday's match between Mount St. Mary's and Saint Francis (Pa.) marks the 10th meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 2002 season. The Mount has won all nine matches in the series including a 16-8 decision last season in Loretto.

the word on the red flash… Saint Francis (Pa.) comes into the weekend 1-6 after falling 18-5 to Duquesne on Tuesday. Junior A Danielle Conwell leads the team with 23 goals and eight assists for 31 points. Senior M Kate Simmons ranks second with eight goals and three assists for 11 points while freshman M Samantha Barton is third with six tallies and a helper for seven points. Simmons also leads the defense with 12 ground balls, 25 draw controls and seven caused turnovers. Freshman GK Caitlyn Flynn has 68 saves, a 15.89 goals against average and a .395 save percentage.

last time we met… Jen Semler posted three goals and an assist in the second half to help Mount St. Mary's rally from a halftime deficit and earn a 16-8 victory against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Apr. 17, 2011. Esther Rufolo posted four goals and one assist along with helping Mount St. Mary's hold a 22-3 advantage on draw controls by grabbing a career-high eight draws on the afternoon. Alexis Salerno added two goals and two assists, and Nicole Price found the twine three times while Brigid McTavish made six saves and Sarah Jane Leder had five stops in the final 11 minutes in the winning effort. Kate Simmons fueled the Red Flash with four markers and an assist. Kara Ledgerwood added a goal and two helpers while Danielle Popusa turned away 15 shots in the loss.

last time out… George Washington defeated Mount St. Mary's 16-8 on Monday. Erin Seipp paced the Mount with two goals and an assist. Aubrey Rubino notched her first two collegiate goals and Kaitlyn Larrimore also found the twine twice in the loss.

next on tap... After the two games against Northeast Conference opponents from Western Pennsylvania, the Mount will travel to Quinnipiac (Mar. 30) and Sacred Heart (Apr. 1). The Mountaineers will then host Bryant (Apr. 5) and Central Connecticut State (Apr. 7) to conclude its regular season home schedule.

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 13-45 in non-conference play, including 5-27 in the last four seasons. Despite the struggles in non-conference play, the Mount is 35-15 in NEC play since the 2005 season.

nec openers... Mount St. Mary's is 11-3 in the Northeast Conference opener, including wins in seven out of the last eight years. The Mountaineers will face Robert Morris in the league opener for the third time in team history (2005, 2008). The Mount will be at home for the 10th time in program history to start the league slate. The Mountaineers are 9-0 in its previous nine home openers and will be in Emmitsburg to start league play for the first time since hosting Long Island in 2009.

non-conference comparison… In the two seasons under head coach B.J. Johnson, the Mount has gone 1-7 in non-conference play each campaign. Last year, the Mount posted 53 goals and 16 assists for 69 points while this season the Mountaineers have posted 47 goals and 13 assists for 60 points. Last year, the Mount had nine different players score in non-conference with three players registering double-digit goals while this season the Mount has had 12 different players find the twine and only sophomore Kaitlyn Larrimore has double figures in goals. The Mount has five players that have scored at least five goals in 2012. On the defensive side of the ball, the Mount allowed 106 goals in 2011 and gave up 114 goals this season. Senior Brigid McTavish made 51 saves in 2011 and has 64 stops in 2012. Last season, the Mountaineers scored 101 goals in league play.

on the defense… Senior Meaghan Conlon leads the team with nine caused turnovers while sophomores Lindsay Diaz has a team-high 24 draw controls and fellow sophomore Gabe Little leads the team with 14 ground balls. Diaz and Little are tied for second with seven caused turnovers while Diaz is second with 12 ground balls. Senior goalkeeper Brigid McTavish has 64 saves, a 14.52 goals against average and a .381 save percentage.

larri wary no more… Redshirt sophomore Kaitlyn Larrimore leads the team with 12 goals and two assists for 14 points this season. The redshirt sophomore has posted 22 markers and two assists over her last 12 games dating back to last year. Larrimore had nine goals and one assist for 10 points in the first 19 games of her career.

a seipp to see… Freshman Erin Seipp ranks second on the team with five goals and three assists for eight points. The freshman has posted three goals and three assists for six points in her last three games. Seipp registered a goal and two assists against Longwood on Mar. 12 and then had a career-high two goals and an assist against George Washington on Mar. 19.

diaz on d and on o… Sophomore Lindsay Diaz ranks third on the team with seven 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 24 draw controls while ranking second with seven caused turnovers and second with 12 ground balls.

collegiate debuts… Freshmen Morgan Dalton, Melissa Cox, Megan Gluck, Hannah Gutcher and Erin Seipp each made their collegiate debut in the season opener against Johns Hopkins 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 the Blue Jays. Hayley Tomilson made her collegiate debut against Columbia on Feb. 29. 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 (L, 18-8).

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 60-55 all-time in the month of March. The squad is 39-17 at home, but just 22-37 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 five 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 135 draws. The senior can move into second place with 13 draw controls and is 32 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 70 goals in her career and needs 16 goals to join the Top-10. The senior can also become the ninth player in team history with 100 tallies with 30 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 (3289.17) 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 second in career saves with 451. Next on the list is Randi Paige (464, 1996-98).

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 9-18 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 140-145 all-time in 17 seasons, including 82-59 at home, 54-77 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.