MOUNT ST. MARY'S (6-9, 5-2 NEC) at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE (9-5, 7-0 NEC)
Friday, April 19, 2013, 4:00 p.m.
Arute Field, New Britain, Conn.
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
MOUNT ST. MARY'S (6-9, 5-2 NEC) at BRYANT (8-6, 5-2 NEC)
Sunday, April 21, 2013, 1:00 p.m.
Bryant Turf Complex, Smithfield, R.I.
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
MOUNT UPDATE: The Mountaineers completed a 2-0 weekend with crucial wins over Sacred Heart, 13-5, and Quinnipiac, 10-9, at Waldron Family Stadium to maintain a tie for third place in the Northeast Conference with two games remaining. Playing in her final two home games, senior Kaitlyn Larrimore scored nine goals, including her fifth of the game against Quinnipiac to break a 9-9 tie with 25 seconds left. For her performances, Larrimore earned NEC Player of the Week for the first time in her career. Between the pipes, Sarah Jane Leder made eight saves against Sacred Heart and seven against Quinnipiac.
PLAYOFF SCENARIOS: Two wins this weekend would guarantee the Mount a spot in next weekend's Northeast Conference Tournament. A win in either of the Mount's games and a loss by Robert Morris would also give the Mount a playoff spot. If the Mount were to lose both games, their playoff dreams would still be alive if Robert Morris loses to Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart this weekend. With the race as close as it is, the Mount can finish as high as the No. 2 seed with two wins and a Monmouth win over Central Connecticut State.
ABOUT CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE: The Blue Devils have already punched their ticket to the NEC Tournament and are tied with Monmouth with a 7-0 conference record entering the weekend. CCSU turns the ball over 17.5 times per game, which is the second most out of 10 NEC teams, but leads the conference by causing 11 turnovers per contest. Morgan Tullar ranks first among NEC goalkeepers with a 9.01 goals against average. The Blue Devils had won eight in a row before falling to Holy Cross by an 11-6 margin in non-conference action on April 17.
ABOUT BRYANT: The Bulldogs enter the final weekend of regular season play tied with the Mount for third with a 5-2 mark in the NEC. Lisa Vendel and Kimberley Sniffen rank second and fourth in the conference in goals per game. Vendel leads the NEC with 35 goals and is second in goals per game at 2.50, while Sniffen's 32 goals rank third among NEC players and her 2.29 goals per game are fourth. Bryant is the only NEC team with fewer than 200 turnovers on the season with 180. The team's 12.86 turnovers per contest is the lowest mark in the league.
LAST TIME WE MET: Meaghan Conlon's last-second goal as the overtime clock expired gave the Mount an 8-7 victory over Central Connecticut State on April 7, 2012 at Waldron Family Stadium. In last year's home matchup with Bryant on April 5, the Mount held a 7-5 lead with 25 minutes left but could not hold on as the Bulldogs came away with a 12-10 win.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Mount is a perfect 13-0 in the all-time series with Central Connecticut State dating back to 2000. In 2001, the Mount secured its biggest margin of victory over the Blue Devils by a 17-4 final. In the all-time series with Bryant, which began in 2010, the Mount holds a 2-1 edge.
NEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Kaitlyn Larrimore became the first Mount St. Mary's women's lacrosse player to earn NEC Player of the Week honors since Emily Kirby in 2010. The team's leading goal scorer a season ago, Larrimore took the team lead for goals (25) and points (32) over the weekend. She is currently riding a six-game scoring streak with 19 goals during the span. The senior, who has 19 multi-goal games in her career, is tied for third with 19 goals in NEC play in 2013.
GROUND BALLS: Gabe Little leads the NEC with 47 ground balls this season. As a team, the Mount checks in at third among conference teams in ground balls per game with 17.33.
DEFENSE IN THE NEC: After allowing seven out of eight non-conference opponents to reach double-digit goals, the Mount's defense has clamped down in conference play. In seven NEC games, the Mount has yielded double digits just once.
MOUNTAINEER TURNED BLUE DEVIL: CCSU's Head Coach Kelly Nangle graduated from Mount St. Mary's in 2006. She was a four-time All-Conference selection for the Mount. Nangle helped the Mount defeat Manhattan in the NCAA play-in game in 2004 and 2005 to qualify for the NCAA First Round in both her sophomore and junior seasons.
RECORD BOOKS: With 138 career saves, Sarah Jane Leder ranks seventh all-time in Mount St. Mary's history. Lindsay Diaz's 104 career draw controls are tied for seventh in school history. Gabe Little has caused 62 career turnovers which is 13th all-time and Kaitlyn Larrimore's 75 career goals are good for 16th in Mount history.
DIAZ REMAINS CONSISTENT: Lindsay Diaz has scored a goal in 12 of the Mount's 15 games and is second on the team with 22. For her career, Diaz has notched at least two goals in a game on 10 occasions.
HEAD COACH B.J. JOHNSON: In three seasons at the helm, Johnson has put together a 17-8 NEC record and a 22-31 overall mark after leading the Mountaineers to back-to-back NEC Championship games in her first two seasons. The Mount is 12-11 at home under Johnson, 9-19 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 31-24 overall and 26-7 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 153-160, 90-62 at home, 59-88 on the road and 4-10 in neutral site games.
NEC TOURNAMENT: The Northeast Conference Tournament will get underway on Friday, April 26, with the semifinals. The finals will take place on Sunday, April 28. Both rounds will be held at the regular season champion's home field.
