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opening game... Friday's game between Mount St. Mary's and Sacred Heart marks the 18th meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1998 season.
• The Mount leads the series 12-5 and has won the last two meetings in the matchup.
• Mount St. Mary's defeated the Pioneers 11-6 on Apr. 1 in the first tilt between the two teams this year.
• Sacred Heart has won five of the seven meetings in Fairfield.
• The Pioneers last win in the series was a 14-5 decision in the NEC Semifinals on Apr. 23, 2010.
the word on the pioneers… Sacred Heart comes into the contest 8-8 overall and 7-2 in Northeast Conference play after rallying from a 9-5 halftime deficit to defeat Central Connecticut State 10-9 on Sunday.
• Junior A Emily Pepe leads the squad with 28 goals and 43 assists for 71 points.
• Senior M Kate Kmiotek and senior A Aurelie Plujimakers are tied for second on the team with 40 points. Kmiotek has 20 tallies and 20 assists while Plujimakers recorded 37 goals and three assists.
• Sophomore M Kelsey Russo fuels the defense with 20 caused turnovers, 35 ground balls and 56 draw controls.
• Freshman GK Kelly Keenan has 153 saves, an 11.63 goals against average and a .450 save percentage.
last time we met… Lindsay Diaz scored a career-high four goals to lead Mount St. Mary's past Sacred Heart 11-6 on Apr. 1, 2012. Esther Rufolo added two goals for the Mount while Aubrey Rubino posted a goal and an assist and Brigid McTavish made six saves in the winning effort. Emily Pepe paced the Pioneers with a goal and two assists and Aurelie Pluijmakers found the twine twice. Kelly Keenan turned away five shots in the loss.
last time out… Monmouth defeated Mount St. Mary's 11-6 on Friday. Erin Seipp fueled the Mount with two goals while Jen Semler posted a goal and an assist. Meaghan Conlon, Hannah Gutcher and Esther Rufolo each also found the twine in the loss.
next on tap... The winners of the two Northeast Conference Semifinals will meet in the NEC Championship Game on Sunday.
sweeping the season series... Mount St. Mary's has posted a win in the regular season and then beat that opponent in the postseason four out of five times.
• In 2004, the Mount won both games against Sacred Heart and Monmouth and the Mountaineers repeated the trick against the Hawks in 2005.
• In 2007, the Mountaineers beat Quinnipiac twice. However, Mount St. Mary's won the regular season meeting against Monmouth before falling to the Hawks in the championship game.
• The squad has also lost the regular season meeting and then came back to defeat a team in the postseason three times, including last season against Robert Morris.
mount vs. the pioneers in the NEC Tournament... Mount St. Mary's will meet Sacred Heart in the Northeast Conference Tournament for the third time in program history. The Mount downed the Pioneeers 6-5 in the 2004 NEC Semfinals after Kristen Gealy came from behind the cage to score the decisive goal with 1:47 left in the match. Sacred Heart defeated the Mountaineers 14-5 in the 2010 NEC Semifinals.
almost playoffs between the mount and sacred heart... Mount St. Mary's and Sacred Heart have officially met twice in the Northeast Conference Tournament, but the two teams have also squared off in the final regular season game with a tournament berth on the line twice. In both games, the Pioneers jumped out to an advantage only to see the Mount come back for the victory. In the regular season finale in 2003, Sacred Heart held a 6-3 lead at halftime. The Mount came back to tie the game with 11 seconds left in regulation. Kim Keene scored the game-winner with 1:22 left in the second overtime for a 9-8 win on Apr. 27, 2003 to send the Mountaineers into the playoffs while eliminating the Pioneers. It was deja vu last season with a playoff spot on the line for the Mount. Sacred Heart jumped out to a 6-2 lead and had a 9-7 edge with 17:21 left in the game. The Mountaineers scored the final three goals to come away with a 10-9 victory on Apr. 23, 2011. Nicole Price scored the decisive goal with 21 seconds left in the contest.
the fourth seed... Mount St. Mary's will be the No. 4 seed for the sixth time in program history. The Mount does have the distinction of being the only fourth seed to win a game in the NEC Tournament. The Mountaineers defeated Monmouth 15-7 in the 2003 NEC Semifinals. The squad is 1-5 as a fourth seed after also entering the postseason in that position in 2001, 2003, 2006, 2008 and 2010 and 2012.
it matters where we play in the tournament... Mount St. Mary's is 3-1 at home, 2-6 on the road and 2-4 on a neutral site in the NEC Tournament. The Mount's last win in the NEC Tournament away from Emmitsburg was a 13-8 decision in last year's NEC Semifinals against Robert Morris.
the mount in fairfield for the nec tournament... Mount St. Mary's will be participating in Northeast Conference Tournament in Fairfield, Conn., for the fourth time in program history. The Mount is 1-3 in games at Sacred Heart in the postseason. The Mount defeated Monmouth 15-9 and lost to UMBC 11-9 during the 2003 NEC Tournament, lost 11-9 to Quinnipiac in the 2009 NEC Semifinals and fell 14-5 to Sacred Heart in the 2010 NEC Semifinals.
making the tournament streak... Mount St. Mary's is making its 10th-straight tournament appearance and 14th overall. The Mount has made every NEC Tournament except for the 2002 season. The 10-consecutive appearances is the longest active streak in the league will the 14th trips ties Monmouth for the most in NEC history.
the championships of the past... Mount St. Mary's won the NEC regular season and tournament titles in 2004 and 2005 and then defeated Manhattan each campaign in the NCAA Division I Play-in Game to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Mount St. Mary's also won the regular season crown in 2007, but lost to Monmouth in the finals that year.
in the last couple of years... Mount St. Mary's is 1-5 in the last five Northeast Conference Tournaments. The squad ended a four-game losing streak in the tournament with a 13-8 win against Robert Morris in the NEC Semifinals. The Mountaineers were 6-3 in the NEC Tournament from 2003-2007, but are 1-8 in all the other tournament games.
other teams in the tournament... Mount St. Mary's and Monmouth have a storied tradition in the Northeast Conference Tournament. The two teams met every year in the league's postseason from 1998-2007 with the exception of 2002 when the Mount did not play in the tournament. The Hawks are 6-3 against the Mount in the NEC Tournament. The two teams met in the NEC Championships Game in 2004, 2005 and 2007, including an epic 8-7 five overtime victory for the Mountaineers in the 2005 NEC title game. The two teams have not squared off in the NEC Tournament since Monmouth rallied for a 9-8 decision in the 2007 title match. Quinnipiac has taken over as the team Mount St. Mary's sees the most in the tournament. The Mount and the Bobcats have played every year since 2007 except 2010 with Quinnipiac owning a 3-1 mark in those games.
Mount St. Mary's and Sacred Heart NEC Tournament Recaps
Mount St. Mary's 6, Sacred Heart 5
NEC Semifinals | Apr. 30, 2004 | West Long Branch, N.J.
Kristen Gealy came around from back of the cage to score the decisive goal with 1:47 left in game to hand Mount St. Mary's a 6-5 victory against Sacred Heart in the NEC Semifinals on Apr. 30, 2004. The Mount jumped out to a 5-2 lead at halftime thanks to goals by Kelsey Withrow (5:03), Kim Keene (6:07), Nicole Di'Angelo (8:39), Addie Lewis (21:29) and Katie Simmons (25:10) each found the twine to give the Mount the three-goal lead at the break. The Pioneers scored the final goal of the first half and the first three tallies of the second half to tie the game at 5 with 11:35 remaining before Gealy found the twine for the game-winner. Jackie Reichert and Jeanne Carroll each had two goals for Sacred Heart. Naomi Campano made six saves for the Mount and Amy Lavoie turned away 10 shots in the loss.
Sacred Heart 14, Mount St. Mary's 5
NEC Semifinals | Apr. 23, 2010 | Fairfield, Conn.
Sacred Heart scored the first four goals of the game and went into halftime with an 8-2 lead en route to a 14-5 victory against Mount St. Mary's on Apr. 23, 2010 in the NEC Semifinals. Kaitlin Rochler paced the Pioneers with four goals while Alicia Fuchs and Jackie Pierce each tallied two goals and two assists. Carissa Hauser registered a hat trick for Sacred Heart. Jordan Certeza fueled the Mount with two saves while Esther Rufolo, Alexis Salerno and Jen Semler each posted a goal in the loss. Brigid McTavish made seven saves for the Mountaineers and Chelsea Wagner turned away 14 shots for the Pioneers.
three of a kind draw... When the draw goes into the air, you can bet that seniors Meaghan Conlon and Esther Rufolo or sophomore Lindsay Diaz have a good chance to scoop up the the draw.
• Diaz leads the team with 57 draw controls this season. It is the third most on the single-season chart in program history. With three draws, the sophomore can move into second place on the single-season list.
• Conlon is also having a career year when it comes to getting the Mount possession. The senior has 46 draw controls to rank 10th on the program's single-season chart. Conlon has 99 career draw controls to rank 10th in team history.
• Rufolo ranks third on the team in draw controls this season with 34. The senior posted the fourth-most draw controls in a single season with 52 in 2011 and the seventh most with 47 in 2010. Rufolo is second all-time with 146 draws.
a little cause for alarm... Sophomore Gabe Little and senior Meaghan Conlon fuel the team with 23 caused turnovers.
• Little paced the team last season with 17 caused miscues.
• Little also leads the team with 31 ground balls.
• The sophomore was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Week for the week of Apr. 9-15.
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 42 markers and four assists over her last 22 games dating back to last year.
• Larrimore had nine goals and one assist for 10 points in the first 19 games of her career.
• She has four hat tricks and three four-goal performances in her career.
• Larrimore recorded four goals in a game twice this season when she found the twine four times against Robert Morris and Saint Francis (Pa.).
a seipp to see… Freshman Erin Seipp ranks second on the team with 19 goals and eight assists for 27 points.
• The freshman has 18 goals and six assists for 24 points in her last nine games.
• Seipp has seven multi-goal performances in that span, including two hat tricks and one four-goal game. She has also dished out two assists in a match three times in that stretch.
• The freshman posted a career-high four goals against Quinnipiac on Mar. 30. She scored all four goals in the first half.
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.
• Diaz scored a career-high four goals against Sacred Heart on Apr. 1.
• On the defensive side of the ball, Diaz leads the squad with 57 draw controls and ranks third on the team with 26 ground balls and third with 16 caused turnovers.
• The 57 draw controls are the third most in program history on the single-season chart. With three more draws, she would move into second place in single-season history.
the roof... the rufolo is on fire... Senior Esther Rufolo has scored a goal in 11 of the last 12 games. The senior has registered 19 of her 20 goals this season in that stretch.
• Rufolo scored a season-high five goals against LIU Brooklyn on Apr. 13.
• Last season she paced the team with 52 draw controls and ranked third in scoring with 36 goals and six assists for 41 points.
• For her career, Rufolo has posted 20 multi-goal performances. She registered a career-high six goals against Monmouth last season and also has two five-goal, five four-goal, four hat tricks and eight two-goal performances to her credit.
• She was named to the All-NEC second team in 2010 and to the first team in 2011.
the semlinator... Senior Jen Semler, who registered 19 goals and 10 assists this season, has posted 11 goals and three assists in her last four 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.
• Semler notched a season-high four goals and two assists against LIU Brooklyn on Apr. 13.
• She led the team with 38 goals and 15 assists for 53 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 seasons.
• The 2011 All-NEC first-team selection recorded 16 multi-goal performances in her career. She has posted four goals in a match four times, six hat tricks and four two-goal games in her career.
a little honored… Sophomore Gabe Little was named the Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the week of Apr. 9-15. It was 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 and then posted three ground balls and a career-high four caused miscues in an 8-6 win against Wagner. 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.
preseason poll… The Mount St. Mary's women's lacrosse team was 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.
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 81-63 all-time in the month of April. The squad is 44-23 at home, but 37-40 away from home. The squad will play two games at home and five on the road in the month.
the price is right... Graduate student Nicole Price registered four goals and one assist before her season was ended due to an injury.
• 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.
• The graduate student only scored one goal against Sacred Heart, but her tally was the decisive marker to propel the Mount into the NEC Tournament.
• Price then scored four goals to help the Mount beat Robert Morris and advance to the NEC Championship Game.
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 154 draws.
• The senior is 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 85 goals in her career and needs one goal to join the Top-10.
• Senior Jen Semler has 27 career assists and can crack the Top-10 in that category with 10 helpers.
• Senior Meaghan Conlon has the 10th most draw controls in a single season with 46 and has moved into 10th place in career draws with 97. She will become the 10th player in program history with 100 draw controls with one draw 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 (3804.37) 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 499. 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.
from lucey to johnson… Women's lacrosse head coach B.J. Johnson is in her second season in Emmitsburg.
• The Mount is 15-21 overall and 12-6 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 146-150 all-time in 17 seasons, including 85-60 at home, 57-81 on the road and 4-9 at a neutral site.
• The Mount is also 69-31 in the Northeast Conference play.
• The squad also boasts a 14-0 mark in the MAAC after winning the league in 1997 and 1998.
