MOUNT ST. MARY'S (0-3) vs. No. 4 VIRGINIA (4-0)
Tuesday, February 25, 2014, 4:00 p.m.
Waldron Family Stadium, Emmitsburg, Md.
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MOUNT UPDATE: The Mountaineers fell to 0-3 after a 15-5 loss at Delaware on Saturday. Mark Hojnoski scored a pair of goals to pace the Mount offense. Chris Klaiber made nine saves in just over three quarters of play while Frankie McCarthy added four saves in the fourth quarter. Ryan Lamon and Hojnowski each have two goals and an assist this season to lead the Mount offense. Klaiber has started all three games in goal, posting a 14.39 goals against average and a .545 save percentage. The Mount is averaging just 4.00 goals per game on the year.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS: Virginia improved to 4-0 on the season with a 19-12 home win over Rutgers on Saturday. The Cavaliers also own wins over Loyola (14-13, ot), Richmond (13-12) and Drexel (11-10). Mark Cockerton leads Virginia with 17 points (11g, 6a) while James Pannell has a team-high 13 goals while adding three assists. Owen Van Arsdale leads UVA with 10 assists. The Cavaliers are averaging 14.3 goals per game on the year. In the cage, Matt Barrett has played all four games, posting an 11.67 goals against average and a .453 save percentage.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES: Mount St. Mary's is 0-11 all-time against Virginia, including loss to the Cavaliers in both the 2003 and 2010 NCAA Tournaments. Last year, the Mount fell at Virginia, by the score of 18-11. The Mount fell to Virginia, 17-5, on Feb. 28, 2012, in the last meeting at Waldron Family Stadium. The Mount is 0-3 all-time at home against UVA.
LAST YEAR'S GAME: Brett Schmidt had three goals and two assists, but it was not enough as the Mount lost at Virginia, 18-11, on Feb. 26, last year. Virginia scored the first three goals of the game, but the Mount fought back to cut it 3-2. The Mount trailed 9-5 at the half, and scored the first goal of the second half to make it 9-6. Virginia took control by scoring four of the next five goals to take a 13-7 advantage. Mark Cockerton led Virginia with six goals and an assist while Rob Emery chipped in four goals and an assist. Schmidt led the Mount with three goals and two assists with Andrew Scalley finishing with four points (1g, 3a).
KLAIBER STEPS UP IN THE CAGE: Senior Chris Klaiber recorded a career-high 20 saves in the Mount's 10-4 loss at Georgetown on Feb. 12. It was the most saves by a Mountaineer player since T.C. DiBartolo made 20 against Georgetown on April 7, 2010. It is just the 17th time in school history that a goalkeeper has made 20 or more saves in a game. The Mount record is 30 saves set by Pat McNulty against Villanova on April 28, 1990.
NEW LOOK LINEUP: The Mountaineers had plenty of new faces in the starting lineup at Maryland. The entire starting attack (Matt Yates, Bubba Johnson and Ryan Lamon) and the entire starting midfield (Robert Jones, Evan Gormley, Clayton Wainer) were comprised of players making their first collegiate starts. In addition, defenseman Nick Firman made his first career start in the game.
FIRST GOALS: The Mount's had three players score their first collegiate goal at Maryland. Robert Jones, Bubba Johnson and Ryan Lamon each found the back of the net for their first career tallies in the game. Greg Mulvaney tallied his first career goal in the Mount's 10-4 loss at Georgetown, and Mike Pascali notched his first career goal at Delaware.
THE SCHEDULE: The Mount once again will face a challenging non-conference schedule. The Mount plays four teams ranked in the top 20 in the USILA Preseason Poll (#3 Maryland, #4 Virginia, #5 Johns Hopkins, #15 Drexel).
PRESEASON POLL: The Mount was tabbed to finish in sixth place in the annual Northeast Conference Preseason Poll. Defending champion Bryant was picked to finish first with Robert Morris and Hobart in a tie for second. Saint Joseph's, Sacred Heart, the Mount and Wagner round out the poll.
THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE: The Mountaineers are in the Northeast Conference, which will be in its fourth season of play. The NEC has a new look this year as Hobart and Saint Joseph's join the league, which includes the Mount, Bryant, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart and Wagner. Mount St. Mary's won the inaugural NEC title in 2011, while Bryant has won the league the past two years.
UP NEXT: The Mount visits Towson on Saturday, March 1, with a 1:00 p.m. game.
