GAME 17: Mount St. Mary's (7-9, 6-2 NEC) at Monmouth (6-10, 5-3 NEC)
WHEN: Fri, Apr. 20, 2012, 3 p.m.
WHERE: Kessler Field, West Long Branch, N.J.
SERIES INFORMATION: Monmouth leads 17-8
LAST MEETING: Monmouth (13-10) 4-8-11
FIRST MEETING: Mount (8-7) 3-22-96
LAST MOUNT WIN: (10-9) 3-29-09
opening draw... Friday's match between Mount St. Mary's and Monmouth marks the 26th meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1996 season. The Hawks lead the series 17-8, including a 13-10 decision last season in Emmitsburg. The Mount won five-straight games in the matchup from 2003-05, but since the Mountaineers 8-7 five-overtime win in the 2005 NEC Championship Game Monmouth has won six of the last eight meetings. Mount St. Mary's last win in the series was a 10-9 decision in 2009 and the squad's last victory at Kessler Field was an 11-10 decision in the 2004 NEC title game. It will be the fifth time the two teams will play in the final regular season game.
the word on the hawks… Monmouth comes into the contest 6-10 overall and 5-3 in Northeast Conference play after defeating LIU Brooklyn 18-6 on Sunday. After missing the NEC Tournament for the first time in program history last year, Monmouth can clinch a spot in the postseason with a win. The Hawks can still make the tournament with a loss, but would need help. Senior A Sam Lillo leads the team with 32 goals and four assists for 36 points. Sophomore M Alex Marino is tied for the team lead in points after registering 27 tallies and nine assists for 36 points while sophomore M Kaleigh Gibbons is third with 17 markers and 18 helpers for 35 points. Junior M Gianna D'Urso leads the defense with 27 caused turnovers and 31 ground balls. Freshman GK Katie Donohoe has 129 saves, an 11.83 goals against average and a .411 save percentage.
last time we met… Monmouth defeated Mount St. Mary's 13-10 on Apr. 9, 2011. Esther Rufolo paced the Mount with a career-high six goals while Nicole Price, Mary MacAdam, Jen Semler and Aly Jost also scored in the match. Brigid McTavish made 10 saves in the loss. Sam Lillo and Molly O'Brien each had a hat trick to fuel the Hawks while Olivia Salata and Rachel Feirstein each tallied a marker and two assists. Kirby Mundorf turned away nine shots in the winning effort.
last time out… Jen Semler registered her third-straight hat trick to propel Mount St. Mary's past Wagner 8-6 on Sunday. Kaitlyn Larrimore added two goals while Lindsay Diaz and Bridget McGann each found the twine. Brigid McTavish made 10 saves in the winning effort.
next on tap... The Northeast Conference Tournament is on Apr. 27 and 29.
the hunt for april… The Mount is on the brink of clinching its 10th-straight NEC Tournament appearance and its 14th berth in the last 15 years. With a win against Monmouth, the Mountaineers will be either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the tournament. The squad can host the tournament with a win, a Quinnipiac loss and a 2-0 weekend by either Sacred Heart or Central Connecticut State. The Mount cannot end in a two-way tie with Quinnipiac to earn the top seed, but Quinnipiac can be involved if either Central Connecticut State or Sacred Heart is are in a three-way tiebreaker with the Mountaineers and the Bobcats. With a loss, Mount St. Mary's should still be one of the teams participating in the tournament but will probably be a third or fourth seed in the event. The Mount, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart, Monmouth and Central Connecticut State still have a shot to host the tournament.
Other Games To Watch This Weekend
Apr. 20 – Wagner at Robert Morris, 1:00
Apr. 20 – Central Connecticut State at Quinnipiac, 4:00
Apr. 20 – Bryant at Sacred Heart, 7:00
Apr. 22 – Bryant at Quinnipiac, 12:00
Apr. 22 – Central Connecticut State at Sacred Heart, 1:00
Apr. 22 – LIU Brooklyn at Robert Morris, 1:00
a little honored… Gabe Little was named the Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the week of Apr. 9-15. It is the sophomore's first weekly conference honor. Little, a 5-8 defender, posted six ground balls and five caused turnovers to help the Mount to a 2-0 week. The sophomore posted three ground balls and a caused turnover in a 19-9 victory against LIU Brooklyn on Friday and then posted three ground balls and a career-high four caused miscues in an 8-6 win against Wagner on Sunday. In addition, the sophomore is the anchor of the Mountaineers' defense and helped the Mount register a 7.50 goals against average in the week.
on the defense… Senior Meaghan Conlon leads the team with 23 caused turnovers while sophomore Lindsay Diaz has a team-high 57 draw controls and sophomore Gabe Little leads the team with 31 ground balls. Conlon ranks second with 44 draw controls while Diaz is second with 25 ground balls and third with 16 caused turnovers. Little also stands second on the team with 21 caused turnovers. Senior goalkeeper Brigid McTavish has 105 saves, an 11.46 goals against average and a .383 save percentage.
larri wary no more… Redshirt sophomore Kaitlyn Larrimore leads the team with 30 goals and four assists for 32 points this season. The redshirt sophomore has posted 32 markers and four assists over her last 20 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 19 goals and eight assists for 27 points. The freshman has 16 goals and six assists for 22 points in her last eight games, including her first collegiate four-goal performance and two hat tricks in her last five matches.
diaz on d and on o… Sophomore Lindsay Diaz has 17 goals this season 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 57 draw controls and ranks second on the team with 25 ground balls and third on the team with 16 caused turnovers. The 57 draw controls are the third most in program history on the single-season chart.
the roof... the rufolo is on fire... Senior Esther Rufolo has scored a goal in nine of the last 11 games. The senior has registered 18 of her 19 goals this season in that stretch. Last season she paced the team 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 has recorded two five-goal games, three four-tally performances and three games with two goals in her career.
the semlinator... Senior Jen Semler, who registered 18 goals and nine assists this season, has posted 10 goals and two assists in her last three games after registering eight goals and seven assists in her first 13 matches. The senior scored the game-winning goal at the buzzer of an 8-7 overtime win against Central Connecticut State on Apr. 7. She led the team with 33 goals and 15 assists for 48 points as a junior. 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.
collegiate debuts and firsts… 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. Gutcher notched her first three collegiate scores against Robert Morris on Mar. 23 and Tomilson found the twine for the first time against Quinnipiac on Mar. 31. Sophomore Bridget McGann notched her first collegiate goal against Sacred Heart on Apr. 1
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 of april... The Mount is 81-62 all-time in the month of April. The squad is 44-23 at home, but 37-39 away from home. The squad will play two games at home and four on the road in the month.
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 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.
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 second place with 153 draws. The senior 14 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 (fourth most) in 2011 and 47 (eighth most) in 2010.
moving in on the offensive Top-10… Senior Esther Rufolo has 84 goals in her career and needs two goals to join the Top-10. The senior can also become the ninth player in team history with 100 tallies with 16 goals. Senior Jen Semler has 26 career assists and can crack the Top-10 in that category with 11 helpers. Senior Meaghan Conlon has the 10 most draw controls in a single season with 44 and has moved into 10th place in career draws with 97. She will become the 10 player in program history with 100 draw controls with three draws and will also move into ninth place.
mctavish on the move in the net... Senior Brigid McTavish ranks second in program history in career minutes played (3744.37) with Naomi Campano Radio holding the program record (4342.50, 2002-05). McTavish is also second in wins (28) with Campano Radio holding that mark as well with 41. The senior is second in career saves with 492. Campano Radio holds the program record with 770.
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 85-60 at home in its 17 seasons. In the past five campaigns, the Mount is 52-28 in Emmitsburg, including 35-6 against league opponents in that stretch. The Mount moved into the Waldron Family Stadium in 2006 and the squad is 30-24 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 15-20 overall and 12-5 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 146-147 all-time in 17 seasons, including 85-60 at home, 57-78 on the road and 4-9 at a neutral site. The Mount is also 69-30 in the Northeast Conference play. The squad also boasts a 14-0 mark in the MAAC after winning the league in 1997 and 1998.
