MOUNT ST. MARY'S (0-2) vs. AMERICAN (2-3)
Wednesday, March 2 | 4 p.m.
Waldron Family Stadium | Emmitsburg, Md.
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
MOUNT UPDATE: The Mountaineers dropped a 12-3 decision at Lehigh this past Saturday despite a career-high 18 saves from senior goalie Steph Rurkowski. Junior middie Kelly Maloney led all Mount scorers with a pair of goals and now tops the squad with three on the season. Maloney also added three ground balls and two draw controls in the contest. Senior attack Nicole Snyder registered her second goal of the year for the Mount's other score in the tilt.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Following a career-best 18-save performance in Saturday's contest, Rurkowski was tabbed the Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Week. The Manlius, N.Y. native stopped 18 of 30 shots for a .600 save percentage to keep the Mountaineers alive in the tilt at Lehigh. Rurkowski has registered 30 saves combined in the team's opening pair of games while posting a .566 save percentage and 11.50 goals against average. The senior is looking to follow up her impressive 2015 campaign in which she was named to the All-Northeast Conference First Team.
ABOUT AMERICAN: After opening the year with a pair of losses at Drexel and Johns Hopkins, the Eagles enter Wednesday's tilt having won two of their last three games. They defeated Saint Joseph's (15-12) and NEC opponent Wagner (7-5), with a loss at UMBC (18-7) sandwiched in between. Senior middie Olivia Mangan tops the squad with 18 points on seven goals and 11 assists, and sophomore attack Jennifer DeSimone leads the team with 13 goals. Fiona Geier owns a .337 save percentage and 13.00 goals against average in five starts in goal.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Mount St. Mary's will matchup with American for the 12th time in series history on Wednesday with the Eagles holding a 9-2 advantage. In last year's matchup, American earned a 12-4 victory behind four goals from Jessica Wojciehowski. Maloney paced the Mount with a pair of goals, while Nicole Lantuh and Sammie Knapp each added one score.
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 Mountaineers hit the road on Saturday, March 5 for a tilt at Longwood at 1 p.m. Click here for a link of live stats of the contest.
