STANDISH, ME - With 14 new players on the roster, the Saint Joseph's field hockey team has a new look this fall.
Only eight players, five being starters, return from a 2011 team that went 13-6 overall and 8-1 in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) play en route to making a NAC Championship appearance for the third time in the last four seasons. Despite owning an incredible 27-2 record versus NAC opponents since joining the league in 2008, the Monks enter the 2012 campaign prognosticated to finish fifth this fall, according to a preseason poll voted on by conference coaches.
Head Coach Rupert Lewis, about to begin his eighth year as the Monks' skipper, is not surprised by the voting results but remains upbeat when considering this year's outlook. "We won't know how good we are until we have our first test," adds Lewis. "We will have a very competitive season, and we're probably ranked where we should be with five returning starters. The goal is to get this team ready for the playoffs and come October we will be a different team. We will compete and there will be some surprises."
Senior captain and 2011 First Team All-NAC defender Brittany Locke (Waterville, Maine) leads the group of returners while fellow starters Melanie Allen (Jackson, N.H.), Rachelle Messuri (Atkinson, N.H.), Theresa Hendrix (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) and Kaylee Heath (Pittston, Maine) are expected to increase their contributions this fall. Allen, Hendrix and Heath will also serve as captains in 2012.
Two first-year players, Meghan Williams (Greenland, N.H./St. Thomas Aquinas) - a skilled and speedy forward - and Kayla Royer (Greene, Maine) - a hard-nosed defender - will be asked to contribute immediately.
Headlining the list of departed players is goalkeeper Meaghan Johnson, who graduated last spring and left the program as owning all of the program's important career and single-season keeper records. An amazingly consistent player, Johnson saved the best for last and was rewarded for a stellar senior season by becoming the first SJC field hockey player to garner NFHCA All-America, First Team All-New England and NAC Defensive Player of the Year accolades.
The Monks also lost Sarah Bartell, Amanda Sebastiao, Renee Leach, Olivia Tourangeau and Ashley Walukevich to graduation while TJ Cowin and Peyton Dostie, two of the team's leading scorers, decided not to return this fall.
Saint Joseph's opens the 2012 season with an away contest versus non-conference foe Eastern Connecticut State University on Saturday, September 1st. The game is scheduled to start at 1:00 PM.