MOUNT ST. MARY'S (1-1) vs. No. 15 TOWSON (2-1)
Friday, February 27, 2015, 2:00 p.m.
Waldron Family Stadium, Emmitsburg, Md.
VIDEO: NEC Front Row
GAME NOTES | TWITTER | LIVE STATS
OPENING FACE-OFF: Mount St. Mary's is coming off an 11-10 loss to Delaware on Tuesday in the team's home opener. Spencer Smith led the way with a career-high four goals while Bubba Johnson added a pair of goals and two assists. Johnson scored a pair of goals in the opening three minutes to give the Mount the early lead. The Mount led 4-1 late in the quarter before Delaware was able to regain the momentum, taking a 5-4 lead at the half. The Blue Hens pushed the advantage to 10-5 in the third quarter before the Mount rallied. Smith scored a pair of goals to close the third quarter, and after a Delaware goal early in the fourth, the Mount scored the next three to make it 11-10 with 5:17 left. The Mount was unable to get the equalizer, though.
ABOUT TOWSON: Towson enters the game with a 2-1 record and the No. 15 ranking in the USILA Coaches Poll. The Tigers opened the season with a 7-5 win over then No. 5 Johns Hopkins before falling to then No. 8 Loyola, 15-11, on Feb. 18. In their last outing, the Tigers downed Georgetown, 9-6. Joe Seider and Andrew Hodgson are tied for the team lead with seven goals each while Spencer Parks (5g, 4a) and Seider (7g, 2a) each have nine points. Tyler White has started all three games in goal, posting an 8.89 goals against average and a .521 save percentage.
MOYNIHAN NAMED NEC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Mount St. Mary's freshman Mike Moynihan started the season off with a bang, recording a hat trick in the Mount's 11-8 season-opening win at VMI. Moynihan was named the Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week, becoming the first Mountaineer to earn the honor since Braedon Graham on Feb. 27, 2012.
TEAM CAPTAINS: Mike Daly, Nick Firman and Braedon Graham will serve as team captains for the Mountaineers this season.
SMITH HAS CAREER DAY: Sophomore attack Spencer Smith scored a career-high four goals in the Mount's 11-10 loss to Delaware. Smith, who had not had a mulitple-goal game in his career, leads the Mountaineers with seven points on five goals and two assists this year.
OFFENSE: The Mountaineers have scored in double figures in each of the first two games this season, averaging 10.5 goals. Last year, the Mount reached double figures in scoring just once in 16 games, a 14-10 loss to Sacred Heart in the final game of the season.
EXPERIENCE ON DEFENSE: The Mount defense returns three starters in Nick Firman, Kyle O'Brien and Alex Stefkovich. The trio combined for 90 ground balls and 22 caused turnovers last season. Firman has eight ground balls on the season, Stefkovich leads the team with five caused turnovers while adding seven ground balls, and O'Brien has four caused turnovers on the year.
IN THE CAGE: Freshman Matt Vierheller started in goal in the Mount's 11-8 win over VMI while Frankie McCarthy was the starter in the 11-10 loss to Delaware. Vierheller made 11 saves against the Keydets while McCarthy had four saves against the Blue Hens.
PRESEASON POLLS: Mount St. Mary's has been picked to finish in sixth place in the annual Northeast Conference preseason coaches' poll, released Tuesday. Three-time defending NEC Tournament champion Bryant was picked to finish in first place, followed by Saint Joseph's, Hobart, Sacred Heart, Robert Morris, the Mount and Wagner.
UP NEXT: The Mountaineers host Georgetown on Wednesday, March 4, at 4:00 p.m. at Waldron Family Stadium on campus.
