MOUNT ST. MARY'S (1-7) vs. WAGNER (4-4)
Friday, March 22, 2013, 4:00 p.m.
Waldron Family Stadium, Emmitsburg, Md.
MOUNT ST. MARY'S (1-7) vs. LIU BROOKLYN (0-7)
Sunday, March 24, 2013, 1:00 p.m.
Waldron Family Stadium, Emmitsburg, Md.
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO (FREE) | TWITTER
MOUNT UPDATE: Mount St. Mary's concluded the non-conference portion of its schedule with an 18-4 loss to UMBC on Friday, March 15. The Mount will now focus its attention on Northeast Conference action with games against Wagner and LIU Brooklyn at home this weekend. Lindsay Diaz leads the Mount attack with 11 goals and two assists. Defensively, Melissa Cox has caused a team-high six turnovers, and Gabe Little is second in the NEC with 24 ground balls.
ABOUT WAGNER: The Seahawks (4-4) began the season 4-1 but have lost three in a row including Monday's 16-3 home loss to UMBC. Through eight games, Jessica Mills and Casey McCarthy have racked up 15 goals apiece. Mills also leads the NEC with 22 assists for Wagner, which is 1-2 in road games this season.
ABOUT LIU BROOKLYN: The Blackbirds (0-7) enter the weekend seeking their first win of the season. Caitlin Farrell has been the biggest offensive threat for LIU with team highs for goals (10) and assists (3). Defensively, LIU has allowed 20 or more goals on five occasions. The Blackbirds' closest game of the season was a 10-6 road loss to Manhattan on March 6.
LAST TIME WE MET: In an April 15, 2012 road contest, the Mount jumped out to a 4-2 halftime lead over Wagner and held on for an 8-6 victory. Jen Semler scored three goals and Lindsay Diaz and Kaitlyn Larrimore both scored twice for the Mount to earn the win over the Seahawks. The Mount pieced together a 19-9 road win over LIU Brooklyn on April 13, 2012. Esther Rufolo scored five times and Semler added four goals and two assists. It was the Mount's first win by double digits since a 16-5 win over Central Connecticut State on April 9, 2010. The 19 goals were the most in a game since a 22-8 victory against Saint Francis U on March 22, 2009.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Mount has dominated the all-time series with Wagner by winning 14 of 17 games. The Mount won the last eight matchups with the Seahawks and is a perfect 8-0 at home in the series. Against the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds, the Mount has won six in a row and leads the all-time series 9-1. The Mount has never lost to LIU Brooklyn at home in five games. Under Head Coach B.J. Johnson, the Mount is 2-0 against Wagner and LIU Brooklyn.
DEJA VU: The Mount completed non-conference play with a 1-7 record for the third season in a row. The past two seasons, the Mount was 6-3 in NEC play to finish the regular season 7-10. In Johnson's first two seasons, the Mount won the opening game of the NEC Tournament to qualify for the finals before falling in the championship game to end the season 8-11.
NEC OPENERS: The Mount is 12-3 all-time in NEC opening games, including 2-0 during the Johnson era.
IN THE NATION: Defender Gabe Little ranks 16th in the nation with 3.0 ground balls per game. In goal, Sarah Jane Leder is 13th nationally with 63 saves on the season.
RECORD BOOKS: With 111 career saves, Sarah Jane Leder ranks ninth all-time in Mount St. Mary's history. Lindsay Diaz's 88 career draw controls are good for 11th in school history. Gabe Little has caused 48 career turnovers which is 19th all-time and Kaitlyn Larrimore's 56 career goals are good for 22nd in Mount history.
DIAZ LEADING: Diaz has scored a goal in six of the Mount's eight games and leads the team with 11. For her career, Diaz has notched at least two goals in a game on seven occasions.
LARRIMORE ON TRACK: Larrimore, the team's leading goal scorer in 2012, ranks third on the team with six goals this season. Larrimore has tallied at least one goal in five of the Mount's eight games. The senior has 14 multi-goal games in her career.
IN GOAL: Leder and Steph Rurkowski combined for the only shutout in the NEC so far this season against Delaware State on March 4. Leder has started all eight games for the Mountaineers between the pipes. She has stopped a Northeast Conference-best 63 shots this season.
PRESEASON POLL: Mount St. Mary's was picked to finish third, according to the Northeast Conference Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll. Monmouth, the defending NEC Tournament champions, has been tabbed as the preseason favorite while Quinnipiac picked up the final two first-place nods to place second in the poll. It will be the last year in the league for the Hawks and Bobcats with both programs slated to move to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in 2014. The Mount finished third in the poll and was followed by Central Connecticut State, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, Bryant, Wagner, Saint Francis U and LIU Brooklyn.
NEC HONORS IN 2012: Meaghan Conlon highlighted six Mount St. Mary's women's lacrosse players honored by the Northeast Conference with an All-NEC First-Team selection last year. Jen Semler, Esther Rufolo, Lindsay Diaz and Gabe Little were named to the All-NEC second team. Freshman Erin Seipp was selected to the NEC All-Rookie team.
HEAD COACH B.J. JOHNSON: In three seasons at the helm, Johnson has put together a 12-6 NEC record and a 17-29 overall mark after leading the Mountaineers to back-to-back NEC Championship games in her first two seasons. The Mount is 8-10 at home under Johnson, 8-18 in road games and 1-1 in neutral site games.
NEW COACHING STAFF: Johnson added two new assistants to her staff for the 2013 season in Dana Cahill and Nicole Price. Cahill played goalkeeper for Johnson at Penn State and was a Tewaaraton Award nominee as a senior. The 2012 graduate ranked second in the nation with 180 saves last season. Price scored 47 goals and dished out 10 assists in her playing career at Mount St. Mary's. She was a 2011 NEC All-Tournament Team selection after scoring a hat trick in a semifinal win over Robert Morris.
WALDRON FAMILY STADIUM: At Waldron Family Stadium, the Mount women's lacrosse team has gone 27-23 overall and 22-6 against NEC teams since the Stadium's first lacrosse season in 2007. The 1,000-seat facility is named in honor of Trustee Emeritus Eugene Waldron, C'64, and his family; while the all-purpose lacrosse and soccer field is named the "Lawrence E. Horning, Sr. Field," in honor of deceased alum Larry Horning, C'56. The complex includes an all-weather synthetic "field turf," enhanced locker room and training facilities, restrooms and concession stand and parking.
ALL-TIME RECORD: Now in its 18th season of existence, the Mount St. Mary's women's lacrosse program is 148-158, 86-61 at home, 58-87 on the road and 4-10 in neutral site games.
UP NEXT: The Mount will take on NEC defending champion Monmouth on Friday, March 29, at 1:00 p.m. at Waldron Family Stadium.
