STANDISH, ME – The 2011 SJC field hockey team awards have been announced. Four honors have been given to five members of the 2011 squad.
The 2011 Coaches' Award goes to senior defender Renee Leach (Springvale, Maine). An unsung hero on one of the top teams in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC), Leach tallied five goals and two assists for 12 total points and took the lion's share of the team's corners with 155 attempts last fall. The three-year standout capped her college career with seven goals and three assists for 17 total points in 55 games.
Sophomore midfielder Theresa Hendrix (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) has been chosen as the Monks' Most Improved Player. Also a star on the softball diamond for St. Joe's, Hendrix entered her first NCAA field hockey season having just recovered from injury and played in 18 games, including 15 starts, in 2011.
First-years Peyton Dostie (Standish, Maine) and Kaylee Heath (Pittston, Maine) share the 2011 Rookie of the Year honor. Both played prominent roles on opposite ends of the field in a highly successful season as Dostie tallied six goals and seven assists for 19 points while playing in all 19 games and Heath, a stout defender, appeared in 17 contests and registered a pair of defensive saves.
Senior goalkeeper Meaghan Johnson (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) is the 2011 SJC field hockey Most Valuable Player. Johnson, a four-year starter, set St. Joe's single-season records for minutes, shutouts (6), goals against average (0.95), and save percentage (.882) during her final NCAA season and collected First Team All-NAC, NAC Defensive Player of the Year, NFHCA First Team All-New England, and NFHCA Third Team All-America honors for her efforts.
Saint Joseph's went 13-6 overall and 8-1 in NAC play this season under the guidance of seventh-year Head Coach Rupert Lewis. The second-seeded Monks advanced to the conference championship game for the third time in four years as a NAC member, but suffered a 2-1 penalty-stroke loss at the hands of #5 Husson University in the title match on Saturday, November 5th.
