STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's College Field Hockey Head Coach Rupert Lewis recorded the 100th win of his collegiate coaching career with a 2-1 victory over Husson University at Mercy Field on Wednesday. Lewis is the first skipper in program history to reach the century mark in victories.
The North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Tournament semifinal triumph over the Eagles propels the second-seeded Monks into the conference championship game for the fourth time in the last six seasons. Saint Joseph's will face off against top-seeded Castleton State College in Vermont on Saturday at 4:30 PM.
The far and away winningest and most successful coach in the 19-year history of the Saint Joseph's field hockey program, Lewis is now 100-63 (.613) in nine seasons at the helm and owns an incredible 39-8 (.830) record versus NAC foes.
Coach Lewis inherited a program that recorded 14 wins in the previous four years combined and has enjoyed seven winning seasons in his nearly nine full seasons at the helm. While competing as a NAC member for the last six seasons, Lewis' Monks have advanced to the postseason all six years and endured three one-goal losses in the conference championship game (2008, 2010, 2011).
Lewis also guided the Royal Blue to a pair of ECAC New England Region Tournaments (2007, 2008) and pushed his 2007 team all the way to the ECAC Championship game, with the Monks ultimately falling to Bridgewater State University by a 1-0 margin.
Coach Lewis is the ninth head coach in Saint Joseph's College Athletics history to hit the 100-victory milestone and his .613 winning percentage ranks 14th all-time at St. Joe's. His teams have been quite difficult to top at Mercy Field, as the Monks have gone 54-23 (.701) at home during Lewis' tenure.
Lewis notched the first victory of his NCAA coaching career with a 2-1 result versus Wheelock College on October 28th, 2005 – the final game of his first season on the sideline. His 2005 squad went 1-13 and the 2006 Monks posted a modest 6-10 record. With his philosophy taking hold, Lewis led the Royal Blue to a 14-7 record in 2007 and the Monks have registered at least 13 victories in five of the last six seasons.
Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 350-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
