STANDISH, ME – The 2013 fall season was one of the most successful segments in the history of Saint Joseph’s College Athletics. Four record-bearing programs posted a collective 59-27 (.686) record – the most wins and highest winning percentage in SJC fall sports history – along with a 29-11 (.725) mark versus conference opponents and, for the first time since joining the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) in the fall of 2007, all four programs hosted playoff contests on campus.

A championship proved to be elusive but this fact should not project a negative light on what was otherwise a fantastic beginning to the 2013-14 athletic calendar. The men’s and women’s cross country teams both notched runner-up finishes in the GNAC Championship, which was hosted by Saint Joseph’s on November 2nd. The field hockey program – which will play a GNAC schedule for the first time this fall - advanced to the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Championship for the fourth time in the last six seasons. The men’s soccer, women’s soccer and volleyball teams all earned the right to host tourney contests but suffered difficult losses in the first round of their respective tournaments.

The Monks’ success yielded numerous individual accolades, including a pair of Coach of the Year honors for cross country skipper Ray Putnam and women’s soccer head coach Jenelle Harris. In totality, the 2013 SJC fall athletes accounted for 45 academic awards, 39 weekly honors, 18 all-conference selections, 16 honor roll listings, six sportsmanship nods, three all-tournament bids and a pair of yearly awards.

The four record-bearing programs were particularly difficult to top at home with a collective 35-7-1 (.833) record in Standish. The Monks posted respectable road (21-18, .538) and neutral (3-2-2, .600) splits as well.

Men’s Cross Country

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GNAC Championship Finish: Runner-up

Individual Accolades: Faisal Abdillahi (All-Conference), Cody Vachon (All-Conference, GNAC Rookie of the Year)

GNAC All-Academic: Matt Boucher, Billy Brooks, Andrew Caron, Joe DiSalvo, Jeff Merrill

Team Highlights: Runner-up finish at 2013 GNAC Championship and sixth-place effort at Maine Championship

Synopsis:

With just one senior on the 2013 roster – Faisal Abdillahi (Lewiston, Maine) – the Monks figured to continue the program’s development with the help of the returning sophomore and junior classes. Led by the coaching staff of third-year Head Coach Ray Putnam and assistants Tom Dann and Kurt Thibeault, Saint Joseph’s accomplished many team goals throughout the season, a year highlighted by the surprising runner-up finish in the GNAC Championship, which was hosted at St. Joe’s on November 2nd. The Monks placed four runners – Vachon (2), Abdillahi (7), Nick Shuckrow (Winslow, Maine) (11) and Joe DiSalvo (Derry, N.H.) (12) – in the top 12 and, with 57 points, finished just eight behind champion Emmanuel College.

Women’s Cross Country

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Individual Accolades: Amber Dostie (GNAC Runner of the Year, All-Conference), Heather Eaton (All-Conference), Lauren Rabideau (All-Conference), Ray Putnam (GNAC Coach of the Year)

GNAC All-Academic: Sarah Bakun, Audrey Curry, Melissa Deplanche, Amber Dostie, Heather Eaton

Team Highlights: Runner-up finish at 2013 GNAC Championship, third place effort in Runnin’ Monks Invitational and program’s best finishes at the ECAC Championship (22nd) and NCAA New England Championship (31st) since 2008

Synopsis:

Striving for their first GNAC Championship since 2008, the Monks seemed poised to capture the crown as the meet host returning three of the top runners in the conference. Despite placing the top three runners in Amber Dostie (Standish, Maine), Heather Eaton (Lincolnville, Maine) and Lauren Rabideau (Ballston Spa, N.Y.), Saint Joseph’s was forced to settle for the team’s third runner-up finish in the last four years, placing second (66 points) behind champion Emmanuel College (48 points). Dostie claimed her third-consecutive Runner of the Year award after winning the race for the third time in as many seasons while Ray Putnam garnered Coach of the Year accolades for the second-straight campaign.

Notes:

With injuries decimating the roster early in the season, Eaton stepped up and earned consecutive GNAC Runner of the Week honors (9/16, 9/23)…Dostie collected four weekly conference awards to bring her career total to 14 such honors.

Field Hockey

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Record: 15-4 (.790), 7-2 (.778) NAC

NAC Tournament: #2 seed, defeated #7 Lasell College (4-1) and #3 Husson University (2-1) before falling to top-seeded Castleton State College (1-3)

Individual Accolades: Effie Drew (1st Team All-NAC, 2nd Team NFHCA All-Region), Emma Astbury (1st Team All-NAC), Rachelle Messuri (2nd Team All-NAC, NAC All-Tournament), 2nd Team NFHCA All-Region), Carley Denis (2nd Team All-NAC), Theresa Hendrix (NAC All-Tournament), Kaylee Heath (NAC All-Tournament)

NAC All-Academic: Carley Denis, Theresa Hendrix, Rachelle Messuri

NFHCA Academic Squad: Allyson Allard, Carley Denis, Effie Drew, Kelsey Dumond, Mariah Farrell, Mikaela Gove, Theresa Hendrix, Rachelle Messuri

Team Highlights: Best single season winning percentage (.790) in program history with team-highs in fewest goals allowed (17), shutouts (10) and goals against average (0.89); also posted the longest winning (8) and shutout (5) streaks in team history while tying the team’s season marks for most wins and fewest losses; advanced to the NAC Championship for the fourth time in the last six seasons

Synopsis:

In their final season as an associate member of the North Atlantic Conference (NAC), the Monks hoped to leave the league with the program’s first-ever conference championship, but would fall just short despite recording one of the finest years in the team’s 19-year history. Head Coach Rupert Lewis, who capped his ninth season at the helm with 100 career victories – the only SJC field hockey skipper to reach the milestone, saw his team outscore opponents by a 24-3 margin en route to posting an 8-0 start. Employing a suffocating defense – which resulted in a team goals-against average that ranked seventh in the nation, at season’s end – the Monks also received strong offensive performances from junior Effie Drew (Portland, Maine), senior Rachelle Messuri (Atkinson, N.H.) and freshman Kelsey Dumond (Lewiston, Maine) and outscored opponents by a 44-17 collective score on the year.

Notes:

Drew, a junior transfer, led the team in goals (10) and points (23) while Messuri tallied seven goals and a team-high seven assists and Dumond netted eight markers with an assist in her first NCAA season…Dumond and first-year keeper Emma Astbury (Bridgewater, Vt.) both earned a pair of NAC Rookie of the Week awards while Drew was chosen as the NAC Player of the Week on a pair of occasions…Astbury finished her freshman season ranked eighth in the country in goals-against average (0.91)…beginning in a loss to Lasell on October 9th, Saint Joseph’s posted 381 minutes of scoreless play before allowing a goal in a loss to Plymouth State 20 days later…Lewis became the first coach in team history to reach the 100-win plateau when his Monks defeated Husson, 2-1, in a NAC Tournament semifinal on November 6th…after six years – and a 39-8 (.830) in-conference record – Saint Joseph’s leaves the NAC and will join the Great Northeast Athletic Conference this fall.

A career to remember:

Messuri, a two-time All-Conference selection, closed out her collegiate career ranked among the program’s all-time leaders in several categories, including shots (3rd, 162), points (4th, 61), game-winning goals (T4th, 7), goals (T5th, 21), assists (6th, 19) and games (T7th, 74).

Golf

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GNAC Championship Finish: Sixth (tie)

Individual Accolades: Kevin Richardson (2nd Team All-GNAC)

GNAC All-Academic: Kevin Richardson

Team Highlights: Third-place finish in the 11th Annual John Queenan Memorial Tournament; most individual top-20 finishes (31) since 2006

Synopsis:

Featuring one of the top golfers in recent program history in senior Kevin Richardson (Coventry, Conn.) and a talented newcomer in freshman Michael Caron (Gorham, Maine), the Monks looked to improve upon their sixth-place finish in the 2012 GNAC Championship. Despite shaving 27 strokes off last year’s conference championship team card and an outstanding 154 score from Richardson, the Monks managed to finish in sixth for the second straight year while Rhode Island College defended the title for the third-consecutive season. Led by 10th-year Head Coach Jamie Smyth ’92, Saint Joseph’s moved up in the standings with a 319 team card on Day Two and rostered two players (Richardson and Caron) who finished in the top 20 overall.

Notes:

Caron enjoyed a fantastic freshman season and earned three GNAC Rookie of the Week awards and was listed on the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll on three occasions…the rookie golfer tied for Southern Maine Fall Classic medalist honors with the second-lowest 36-hole card (144) in program history and finished his first season with 78.0 and 158.5 averages in 18 and 36 hole tournaments, respectively…Richardson posted the second-best GNAC Championship card (154) in the Monks’ eight years as a member of the conference and collected Second Team All-GNAC honors with the effort.

A career to remember:

Richardson, the 2010 GNAC Rookie of the Year, proved to be one of the most consistently successful golfers in team history during his four seasons. He leaves the program owning the third-lowest 36-hole average (159.3) and seventh-best 18-hole mark (80.1) and posted 30 sub-80 rounds in 38 career events – both program-highs over the last 15 years – along with nine top-five finishes since coming to Saint Joseph’s in the fall of 2010.

Men’s Soccer

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Record: 10-8-1 (.556), 6-3-0 (.667) GNAC

GNAC Tournament: #2 seed, fell to #7 Albertus Magnus College, 2-1, in a GNAC quarterfinal at Westerlea Way Field on November 3rd

Individual Accolades: Kyle Shangraw (1st Team All-GNAC, 1st Team ECAC All-New England, 2nd Team NSCAA All-New England), Dan McIntyre (1st Team All-GNAC), Zach Johnson (2nd Team All-GNAC), Fabrice Iraduha (2nd Team All-GNAC)

GNAC All-Academic: Scott Benner, Nate Fox, Ryan Gallagher, Dan McIntyre, Robert Petrosillo, Kyle Shangraw, Jason Wade

Team Highlights: Longest winning streak in team history (7), #2 seed in GNAC Tournament

Synopsis:

Led by fifth-year Head Coach Steve Babineau, the Monks faced lofty expectations after having graduated just two seniors from a team that went 10-6-2 in 2012. Owning a 10-4-1 record after defeating Rivier, 3-0, on October 14th, Saint Joseph’s seemed to be on track for another lengthy playoff run. Unfortunately, injuries began to mount down the stretch and, as a result, the Royal Blue failed to score in the team’s final three regular season matches and saw the season come to an abrupt ending with a 1-0 GNAC Tournament loss to Albertus Magnus.

Notes:

Babineau became the winningest coach in program history with a 4-0 victory over Maine-Presque Isle (his alma mater) on September 7th and finished the season with a 54-40-6 (.574) record…a senior transfer, Kyle Shangraw (Westbrook, Maine) led the Monks in goals (13), points (32) and game-winners (6) and broke the program’s single-season record for shots (85)…for his efforts, Shangraw earned a bevy of awards, including a pair of ECAC New England Offensive Player of the Week honors and three GNAC Player of the Week accolades.

A career to remember:

Zach Johnson (Westbrook, Maine) tallied 25 goals and 11 assists for 61 career points as a three-year member of the Saint Joseph’s men’s soccer program. He ranks as the Monks’ all-time game-winning goal leader (14) and capped his career ranked second in career points, tied for second in goals, third in shots (164) and tied for fourth in assists. The three-time All-GNAC honoree set the program’s single-season goals (17) and game-winning goals (8) marks and helped the Monks claim the GNAC Championship in 2011.

Women’s Soccer

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Record: 15-3-1 (.833), 9-2-0 (.818) GNAC

GNAC Tournament: #3 seed, defeated by #6 Suffolk University in a sudden-victory shootout round after 90 minutes of regulation, 20 minutes of overtime and a conventional shootout failed to determine a winner in a 1-1 deadlock

Individual Accolades: Jaci Lorenzen (4th Team NSCAA All-New England), Lauren Chouinard (2nd Team All-GNAC), Leanne Comeau (2nd Team All-GNAC), Jessica Capozzi (3rd Team All-GNAC)

GNAC All-Academic: Stacy Anuszewski, Ashley Beaulieu, Jessica Capozzi, Lauren Chouinard, Emily Cocciardi, Danielle Daigle, Kelly Flaherty, Kim Jordan, Doe Leckie, Jaci Lorenzen, Kelsea Marchand, Sam Peters, Whitney White

Team Highlights: Seven and five game winning streaks, second-most victories and second-highest winning percentage in team history

Synopsis:

The 2013 women’s soccer side faced uncertainty going into the season, having gone 8-5-4 overall the previous fall and predicted, perhaps aptly, to place eighth in the conference, according to the GNAC Preseason Poll. Led by first-year Head Coach Jenelle Harris, the Monks – featuring 20 returners, including 12 who started at least five games in 2012 – proceeded to record one of the finest seasons in team history with the help of a balanced offensive attack (nine different players netted at least three goals) and a stout defense, led by senior keeper Jaci Lorenzen (Windham, Maine). Unfortunately, the fine regular season effort failed to end the side’s four-year postseason drought, as the Royal Blue suffered a heartbreaking sudden-victory penalty-kick round defeat at the hands of #6 Suffolk on November 2nd.

Notes:

Coach Harris became the first SJC rookie skipper in nearly 25 years to collect conference Coach of the Year accolades…Lorenzen earned a pair of ECAC Defensive Player of the Week honors and was selected as the GNAC Goalkeeper of the Week twice during her senior season…Danielle Daigle (Dayton, Maine) and Kim Jordan (Bangor, Maine) also garnered GNAC Player of the Week accolades on September 16th and September 30th, respectively.

A career to remember:

Lorenzen, who started in each of the Monks’ 70 matches during her career, will surely be remembered as one of the best keepers in Saint Joseph’s Women’s Soccer history. The two-year team captain saved the best for last, posting her best numbers during her senior season going 15-3-1 with nine shutouts, a 0.84 goals against average and an .874 save percentage with 111 saves and just 16 goals allowed in 1,706 minutes in goal. She closed the book on her NCAA career listed among the Monks’ all-time goalkeeping leaders with 37 wins (4th), 27 shutouts (3rd), 382 saves (3rd), a 1.14 goals-against average (7th) and an .823 save percentage (8th) while logging 6462 minutes (3rd) over 70 games (3rd).

Volleyball

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Record: 19-12 (.613), 7-4 (.636) GNAC

GNAC Tournament: #4 seed, fell to #5 Simmons College, 3-2, in a GNAC Tournament quarterfinal match at the Harold Alfond Center on November 5th

Individual Accolades: Felicia Wachowiak (1st Team All-GNAC)

GNAC All-Academic: Holly Bannister, Cassie Leach, Abbie McPhee, Emilee Penman

Team Highlights: Six and five game winning streaks during the season, SJC Autumn Invitational Championship

Synopsis:

With an interesting blend of talented returners and incoming recruits, Saint Joseph’s continued to seek the program’s first GNAC Tournament victory last fall, but would ultimately fall short as a 2-1 lead over Simmons College went down in the books as a 3-2 quarterfinal loss. Head Coach Yamile Nolan completed her fourth year at the helm owning the highest winning percentage (.623, 76-46) in team history and witnessed the tremendous growth of her program in 2013, despite having lost two All-Conference players (Sarah Hawkes and Kiah Begley) from the 2012 squad. Sophomore Felicia Wachowiak (Milton, N.H.), who has emerged as one of the elite players in the conference, claimed a pair of GNAC Player and GNAC Defensive Player of the Week honors along with an ECAC Player of the Week award during the season. The freshman class provided several key contributors, including setter Mariah Hebert (Biddeford, Maine), who claimed GNAC Rookie of the Week mention on September 9th, and outside hitter Victoria Huntley (Ellsworth, Maine), who earned a pair of GNAC Weekly Honor Roll bids in 2013.

Notes:

Wachowiak shattered the Monks’ single season solo blocks (70) and total blocks (104) records and recorded the second-most kills (326) in team history…she heads into her junior season as the program’s all-time leader in attack percentage (.304), kills per set (3.0) and blocks per set (1.0)… Hebert dealt the third-most assists (723) in program history as a freshman.

Careers to remember:

During their time on the court, Russi and Bannister helped the Monks post the second-highest senior class winning percentage (.626) with a 77-46 overall record over the past four seasons. Russi, a libero, capped her four years as the Monks’ career leader in digs (1340) and digs per set (3.6) and also ranks fifth in career service aces (173). Bannister, a middle blocker, currently ranks second all-time in block assists (97), third in total blocks (186) and fourth in solos (89). Though neither player garnered postseason recognition during their respective careers, both played important roles in helping the program reach new heights since first suiting up for the Monks in the fall of 2010.