MOUNT ST. MARY'S (4-7, 1-2 NEC) vs. SAINT JOSEPH'S (7-5, 3-0 NEC)
Saturday, April 11, 2015, 12:00 p.m.
Waldron Family Stadium, Emmitsburg, Md.
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | GAME NOTES
MOUNT UPDATE: Mount St. Mary's had its two-game win streak snapped in a 10-7 loss at Robert Morris on Wednesday. The Mount started the game quickly as Mark Hojnoski posted a natural hat trick in the opening 7:50 to give the Mount a 3-0 lead. After Hojnoski's third goal, the game was delayed for 42 minutes by a thunderstorm. Robert Morris took advantage of the break, holding the Mount scoreless for 32 minutes to take a 6-3 lead. The Mount got back in the game by scoring three times in just over a minute midway through the third quarter to tie the game at 6-6. Robert Morris answered with a three-goal run of its own, kicked off by a man-down goal, to grab the lead for good. Hojnoski led the Mount with four goals while Justin Gosnell added a goal and an assist in the loss. Matt Vierheller made 12 saves in the loss.
ABOUT SAINT JOSEPH'S: Saint Joseph's defeated Wagner, 14-3, on Tuesday to improve to 7-5 overall and 3-0 in the Northeast Conference. The Hawks scored eight times in the second quarter to secure the victory. Pat Swanick led Saint Joseph's with four goals in the win. Mike Rastivo leads the Hawks in scoring with 30 goals and 44 points while Ryan McGee is second on the team with 40 points (24g, 16a). Kevin Forster and Swanick each have 14 goals with Chris Blewitt chipping in 13. T.J. Jones has started six of 10 games in goal, posting an 8.77 goals against average and a .514 save percentage.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES: Mount St. Mary's holds a 13-5 lead in the all-time series with Saint Joseph's. Last year, the Hawks earned a 10-5 win over the Mount in Philadelphia in the first-ever NEC regular season meeting between the schools. The Mount and Saint Joseph's were in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference together from 1997 thru 2010, with the Mount winning 13-of-15 matchups over that span. Mount St. Mary's defeated the Hawks, 8-2, in the 2003 MAAC Championship game.
STRONG DEFENSIVE EFFORT: The Mount allowed just two goals in its win over Sacred Heart last Saturday. The two goals allowed are the fewest by a Mount team since an 8-2 win over Saint Joseph's in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship game on May 4, 2003. The Mount held the Pioneers off the scoreboard for the first 40:52 of the game.
FACING OFF: Senior Nick Haley won 17-of-21 (.810) face-offs in the Mount's 10-7 loss at Robert Morris on Wednesday. Over the past six games, Haley has won 64-of-101 (.634) face-offs for the Mount over the past six games.
DEFENSE: The Mount's improvement on defense has been a key factor in the team's play in 2015. The Mount is 13th in the nation in scoring defense (8.27) and 20th in caused turnovers per game (7.45). Last season, the Mount ranked 60th in the country in scoring defense (12.00) and 43rd in caused turnovers/game (6.63).
NATIONAL LEADERS: Freshman goalkeeper Matt Vierheller is fifth in the nation in save percentage at 60.1 percent this season. Vierheller is also eighth in goals against average (7.65) and 12th in saves per game (11.56). Senior defender Kyle O'Brien is fifth in the country with 2.09 caused turnovers per game.
McCARTHY STEPS UP: Junior Frankie McCarthy got the start in the cage in the Mount's 12-11 win over Bucknell and responded with a career-high 19 saves. McCarthy was outstanding in the first half, making 14 saves while facing 30 shots. He added a pair of key caused turnovers in the fourth quarter while picking up four ground balls in the game. McCarthy is 1-1 with an 11.00 goals against average and a .511 save percentage in two starts this season.
VIERHELLER EARNS WEEKLY HONOR: Freshman Matt Vierheller was named the Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week on March 30 after posting a 6.50 goals against average and a .581 save percentage in two games. The freshman was outstanding against Sacred Heart, allowing two goals while making 13 saves in the 10-2 victory. Vierheller is the second Mountaineer to earn Rookie of the Week honors this season, joining Mike Moynihan who grabbed the award on Feb. 16. The last time the Mount had multiple Rookie of the Week winners in the same season was 2010 when Andrew Scalley (two times), Brett Schmidt and Bryant Schmidt all won the award.
GOSNELL CONTRIBUTING: Junior Justin Gosnell, in his first season with the Mountaineers, has acclimated himself to the Mount lineup, posting 15 goals and four assists over the past nine games. Gosnell has scored 13 goals over the past seven games, including a season-high three in the Mount's 11-8 loss to UMBC.
EXPERIENCE ON DEFENSE: The Mount's trio of senior starters on defense includes Nick Firman, Kyle O'Brien and Alex Stefkovich. This season, the three have combined for 65 ground balls and 38 caused turnovers over the first 10 games. O'Brien has 25 ground balls and 23 caused turnovers, Firman has 28 ground balls and eight caused turnovers, and Stefkovich has 12 ground balls and seven caused turnovers. The three combined for 90 ground balls and 22 caused turnovers last season.
TEAM CAPTAINS: Mike Daly, Nick Firman and Braedon Graham will serve as team captains for the Mountaineers this season.
UP NEXT: The Mountaineers hosts Bryant on Saturday, April 18, at 12:00 p.m. at Waldron Family Stadium on campus.
