MOUNT ST. MARY'S (0-1) at LEHIGH (1-1)
February 27, 2016 | 3 p.m.
Ulrich Sports Complex | Bethlehem, Pa.
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
MOUNT UPDATE: The Mountaineers fell to Bucknell, 11-5, in the Mount's season opener on Saturday at Waldron Family Stadium. Sammie Knapp, Nicole Lantuh, Kelly Maloney and Molly Morris each tallied two points on a goal and an assist to pace the team's offense, and Nicole Snyder added the other Mountaineer goal on the afternoon. Senior goalie Steph Rurkowski made 12 saves on 23 shots on goal in the contest. The Mountaineers game against George Mason on Wednesday was postponed in the second half due to weather. A makeup date has yet to be announced.
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 Lantuh (27g, 14a), Maloney (28g, 6a) and Knapp (25g, 6a). Rurkowski enters 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.
ABOUT LEHIGH: The Mountain Hawks sit at 1-1 on the year after falling to No. 6 Penn State, 13-6, in the season opener and topping Yale, 9-7, this past Sunday. Allison LaBeau leads the squad with seven points (4g, 3a), and Lauren Beausoleil (3g, 2a) and Courtney Henig (4g) are the other Mountain Hawks with multiple points through the opening two games. Lehigh was picked fifth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll, as Kendall Garden and LaBeau earned Preseason All-Patriot League selections.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Mount and Lehigh are set to meet for the ninth time in series history on Saturday with the Mountain Hawks holding a 6-2 edge. Lehigh topped the Mountaineers 16-8 in the matchup last season behind six goals from LaBeau. Lantuh paced the Mount's offense in the contest with four points on three goals and an assist.
NEC PRESEASON POLL: Mount St. Mary's was picked to finish third in the annual Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. Two-time defending NEC Champion Bryant earned the top spot in the poll with five first-place votes, while last season's runner-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.
NEXT UP: The Mount returns home to face American on Wednesday, March 2 at 4 p.m. Live action can be seen for free on NECFrontRow.com.
