MOUNT ST. MARY'S (0-0) vs. BUCKNELL (1-0)
Saturday, February 20 | 3 p.m.
Waldron Stadium | Emmitsburg, Md.
VIDEO | LIVE STATS
VIDEO PREVIEW: Click here to watch a video preview of the upcoming season with interviews from Molly Morris, Sammie Knapp, Emily Dees and Head Coach Lauren Schwarzmann.
OPENING DRAW: Mount St. Mary's kicks off its 21st season of women's lacrosse with a matchup against Bucknell on Saturday, February 20 at Waldron Stadium. Head Coach Lauren Schwarzmann enters her second year at the helm of the program and looks to follow up a successful first season in which she guided the Mount to a 5-2 record in NEC play and took the team to the conference semifinals.
RETURNERS: The Mount returns eight starters and 16 total letterwinners from last year's squad, including three of the team's top four scorers in Nicole Lantuh (27g, 14a), Kelly Maloney (28g, 6a) and Sammie Knapp (25g, 6a). Goalie Steph Rurkowski also returns for her senior season after finishing 2015 with a .455 save percentage and 10.71 goals against average. Lantuh, Rurkowski and Marley Heller each earned All-NEC accolades a season ago, as Lantuh was named the conference's rookie of the year and earned a spot on both the second team and all-rookie team, while Rurkowski made first team and Heller secured a spot on the all-rookie squad.
CAPTAINS: Junior middie Sammie Knapp and sophomore defender Emily Dees were named team captains for the 2016 campaign earlier in the preseason. Knapp, a captain for the second straight season, started all 17 games a year ago and finished fourth on the team in points (31) and goals (25). Dees also started all 17 games last year, helping anchor the Mount's defensive unit throughout the season. Dees ranked fourth on the squad with 12 caused turnovers, and also tallied 21 ground balls and 10 draw controls on the year.
FRESH FACES: Attack Taylor Carhart, middie Emily Davis, defender Laurel George and goalie Jillian Petito make up this year's Mountaineer freshmen class. All four rookies in this season's class hail from the state of Maryland.
2015 RECAP: The Mount doubled its win total in Head Coach Lauren Schwarzmann's first season at the helm, finishing the year at 6-11 overall and 5-2 in Northeast Conference play. The Mountaineers closed out the regular season by winning four of their last five games to earn the No. 3 seed in the conference playoffs, where they fell to second-seeded Wagner in the semifinals. The Mount has made an appearance in the league playoffs in 12 of the last 13 seasons.
NEC PRESEASON POLL: The Mountaineers were picked third in the annual NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was announced last Wednesday. Two-time defending NEC Champion Bryant earned the top spot in the poll with five first-place votes, while last season's runners-up, Wagner, was picked second and claimed the remaining three first-place votes. Mount St. Mary's, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, Central Connecticut, LIU Brooklyn and Saint Francis U rounded out the eight-team poll.
ABOUT BUCKNELL: The Bison finished 2-15 overall and 0-8 in Patriot League play last season, but opened the 2016 campaign with a 25-1 win over Delaware State on Wednesday as they set the program's new single game scoring record. Sophomore Eve Lukowski tallied eight points (3g, 5a) to lead all scorers, while three other Bison finished the day with four goals apiece. Bucknell returns 10 starters and 20 letterwinners from last year's squad, including top scorer Maddy Molinari (28g, 10a in 2015) and All-Patriot League pick Gretchen Richter.
NEXT UP: The Mount travels to George Mason for its first road contest of the year on Wednesday, February 24 at 4 p.m.
