MOUNT ST. MARY'S (3-7, 2-0 NEC) vs. MONMOUTH (4-6, 2-0 NEC)
Friday, March 29, 2013, 1:00 p.m.
Waldron Family Stadium, Emmitsburg, Md.
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MOUNT UPDATE: The Mount began Northeast Conference competition with home wins over Wagner (9-6) on Friday and LIU Brooklyn (14-9) on Sunday. In the conference opener against Wagner, Lindsay Diaz scored three free position goals as the Mount led from start-to-finish to improve to 13-3 all-time in NEC openers. The following game, Erin Seipp recorded a hat trick and dished out two assists to down the Blackbirds to begin 2-0 in NEC play for the seventh time in the last 10 years.
ABOUT MONMOUTH: After a 0-5 start to the season, the defending NEC Champion Hawks have turned it around with wins in four of their last five contests. Monmouth began NEC competition over the weekend with a 17-4 win over LIU Brooklyn and a 12-7 defeat of Wagner at home. Monmouth is 0-3 in road games this season. Led by Kaleigh Gibbons' 17 goals and 15 assists, the Hawks have scored 99 goals on the season, which is second among NEC teams.
LAST TIME WE MET: The Mountaineers and Hawks tangled twice last season with Monmouth getting the better of the play both times. In the regular season finale on April 20, Monmouth's Olivia Salata scored four goals and had two assists to beat the Mount, 11-6. Nine days later in the NEC Championship game on April 29, the Mount jumped out to a 2-1 lead five minutes into the game, but could not hold on as the Hawks claimed an 11-3 win with seven second-half goals.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Monmouth holds a 19-8 all-time series lead over the Mount. The Hawks have won the last four matchups with the Mount's last win occurring on March 29, 2009. Five of the Mount's eight wins over Monmouth have been at home, including the last four victories.
DEJA VU: The Mount completed non-conference play with a 1-7 record for the third season in a row. The past two seasons, the Mount was 6-3 in NEC play to finish the regular season 7-10. In Johnson's first two seasons, the Mount won the opening game of the NEC Tournament to qualify for the finals before falling in the championship game to end the season 8-11.
NEC OPENERS: The Mount moved to 13-3 all-time in NEC opening games, including 3-0 during the Johnson era with the 9-6 win over Wagner on March 22.
FAST NEC STARTS: A 2-0 start in NEC play is nothing new for the Mount. Last season, the team started 2-0, and in 2011 the Mount started NEC with a 4-0 record. The Mountaineers have navigated through the NEC regular season undefeated on two occasions. In 2004, the team completed a 7-0 mark and three seasons later went 8-0.
FIVE-POINT GAME: Erin Seipp had a five-point day with three goals and two assists against LIU Brooklyn. She joins Lindsay Diaz as the only Mount players with five points in a game this season. Diaz accomplished the feat on March 4 against Delaware State.
RECORD BOOKS: With 119 career saves, Sarah Jane Leder ranks ninth all-time in Mount St. Mary's history. Lindsay Diaz's 94 career draw controls are good for 11th in school history. Gabe Little has caused 54 career turnovers which is tied for 16th all-time and Kaitlyn Larrimore's 58 career goals are good for 21st in Mount history.
DIAZ LEADING: Diaz has scored a goal in eight of the Mount's 10 games and leads the team with 16 including three against Wagner on March 22 and two against LIU Brooklyn on March 24. For her career, Diaz has notched at least two goals in a game on nine occasions.
LARRIMORE BACK ON TRACK: Larrimore, the team's leading goal scorer in 2012, is tied for third on the team with eight goals this season. After scoring in five of the first six games of the season, Larrimore was held without a goal for three games until netting two against LIU Brooklyn on March 24. The senior has 15 multi-goal games in her career.
GROUND BALLS: Gabe Little is tied for the NEC lead with 32 ground balls this season. As a team, the Mount checks in at second in the conference with 186.
IN GOAL: Leder and Steph Rurkowski combined for the only shutout in the NEC so far this season against Delaware State on March 4. Leder has started all 10 games for the Mountaineers between the pipes. She has stopped 71 shots this season, which is second-most in the NEC.
PRESEASON POLL: Mount St. Mary's was picked to finish third, according to the Northeast Conference Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll. Monmouth, the defending NEC Tournament champions, has been tabbed as the preseason favorite while Quinnipiac picked up the final two first-place nods to place second in the poll. It will be the last year in the league for the Hawks and Bobcats with both programs slated to move to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in 2014. The Mount finished third in the poll and was followed by Central Connecticut State, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, Bryant, Wagner, Saint Francis U and LIU Brooklyn.
NEC HONORS IN 2012: Meaghan Conlon highlighted six Mount St. Mary's women's lacrosse players honored by the Northeast Conference with an All-NEC First-Team selection last year. Jen Semler, Esther Rufolo, Lindsay Diaz and Gabe Little were named to the All-NEC second team. Freshman Erin Seipp was selected to the NEC All-Rookie team.
HEAD COACH B.J. JOHNSON: In three seasons at the helm, Johnson has put together a 14-6 NEC record and a 19-29 overall mark after leading the Mountaineers to back-to-back NEC Championship games in her first two seasons. The Mount is 8-10 at home under Johnson, 8-18 in road games and 1-1 in neutral site games.
NEW COACHING STAFF: Johnson added two new assistants to her staff for the 2013 season in Dana Cahill and Nicole Price. Cahill played goalkeeper for Johnson at Penn State and was a Tewaaraton Award nominee as a senior. The 2012 graduate ranked second in the nation with 180 saves last season. Price scored 47 goals and dished out 10 assists in her playing career at Mount St. Mary's. She was a 2011 NEC All-Tournament Team selection after scoring a hat trick in a semifinal win over Robert Morris.
WALDRON FAMILY STADIUM: At Waldron Family Stadium, the Mount women's lacrosse team has gone 29-23 overall and 24-6 against NEC teams since the Stadium's first lacrosse season in 2007. The 1,000-seat facility is named in honor of Trustee Emeritus Eugene Waldron, C'64, and his family; while the all-purpose lacrosse and soccer field is named the "Lawrence E. Horning, Sr. Field," in honor of deceased alum Larry Horning, C'56. The complex includes an all-weather synthetic "field turf," enhanced locker room and training facilities, restrooms and concession stand and parking.
ALL-TIME RECORD: Now in its 18th season of existence, the Mount St. Mary's women's lacrosse program is 150-158, 88-61 at home, 58-87 on the road and 4-10 in neutral site games.
UP NEXT: The Mount will travel to Pennsylvania to face Saint Francis U on Friday, April 5, at 4:00 p.m. in Loretto, Pa. before heading to Moon Township, Pa. for a 1:00 p.m. game against Robert Morris on Sunday, April 7.
