STANDISH, ME—Led by eight-year head coach Rupert Lewis, the 2012 Saint Joseph's College field hockey squad showed promise by winning five of their first six contests in shutout fashion, en route to a 5-1 mark to start the season.
Junior forward Rachelle Messuri (Atkinson, N.H.) checked in her first career multi-score game in the season opener against Eastern Connecticut State University, where the Monks defeated the Warriors, 3-0.
The Monks went on to win their next two contests; a 5-0 stomping over Lasell College and a 2-0 victory over Anna Maria College. The victory over Lasell displayed a well-balanced and steady SJC attack, as all five goals were scored by different players: senior midfielder Elizabeth Andersen (Cumberland, Maine), Messuri, co-captain midfielder Theresa Hendrix (Scarborough, Maine), forward Allyson Allard (Parsonsfield, Maine), and forward Meghan Williams (Greenland, N.H.).
Freshman forward Amanda Celata (Dedham, Mass.) provided all the offense in the win over Anna Maria, scoring two goals during the 27th and 63rd minute to give the Monks all the offense they needed.
Despite being handed their first loss to the University of New England on September 12, 2-0, the Monks would hold strong, winning three of their next four to improve their season record to 6-2. Within these victories was a double-overtime thriller at Rivier College, where freshman Kayla Royer (Greene, Maine) scored in the 93rd minute of the second overtime to cash in a 4-3 victory for the Monks in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) battle. Co-captain senior defender Brittany Locke (Waterville, Maine) and sophomore defender Carley Denis (Lewiston, Maine) also scored for the Royal Blue.
After the thrilling victory over Rivier, the Monks would go on to post a 3-6 record the remainder of the season. The offense would cool off, and the Monks managed to score just four goals in their last five contests—four losses—bringing their record to 9-7 heading into the NAC Quarterfinal at New England College. The number five-seeded Monks were to square off against the fourth-seeded Pilgrims in the hopes of advancing to the semifinal game against top-seed Husson College.
The matchup remained tied at zero a piece until the 21st minute, where the Pilgrims slapped in a goal to give them a 1-0 edge. Responding quickly, the Monks scored just two minutes later on a goal by Messuri, who converted a penalty stroke into the net to mark her team-leading eighth goal of the season.
Unfortunately for the Monks, only one more goal was to be scored and it belonged to New England. The Monks let up the final goal of the game in the 59th minute. The touch loss signaled the end of what originally looked to be a promising season for Saint Joseph's; the Monks concluded the schedule with a 9-8 record—5-4 in the NAC—to narrowly miss advancing to the semifinal game.
Messuri finished the season as the team leader in points (24), assists (8), goals (8), and shots (63). Senior goalkeeper Taylor Allison (Pawtucket, R.I.) concluded her collegiate career by posting a .766 save percentage, while denying 72 shots on goal during her final year.
Senior co-captain Melanie Allen (Jackson, N.H.) finished her final season with 22 shots, including 17 on goal. She appeared in 16 games as a senior defender and was named a member of the 2012 NFHCA All-Academic Team.
WRITTEN BY JACK HOLLY '14
