WINTHROP, Mass. – Saint Joseph's College of Maine received 60 points and five first-place votes to take the first overall spot in the 2017 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Field Hockey Preseason Poll, as voted upon by the league's head coaches.
Simmons College was just two points off the pace, finishing with two first-place nods and 58 points to finish second in the poll, while Johnson & Wales University (RI) finished third with one first-place tally and 46 points.
SJC claimed the 2017 GNAC regular-season title before going on to defeat Simmons in the GNAC Championship, 1-0, to claim its first-ever league crown and trip to the NCAA Tournament, where the Monks traveled nearly six hours to take on Montclair State in a first-round contest. Libby Pomerleau, who scored the lone tally in SJC's GNAC Championship victory over the Sharks, helped defeat Montclair State by again scoring the only goal of the contest.
Saint Joseph's, 14-7 overall and 5-1 in GNAC play under the watch of 2016 GNAC Coach of the Year Rupert Lewis last fall, return all but one starter – departed senior Kelsey Dumond – from last year's squad. Pomerleau, the 2016 GNAC Rookie of the Year, paced the Royal Blue with 16 goals, 10 assists, and 42 total points while fellow First Team All-GNAC honorees Megan Baker (Gorham, Maine) – the 2016 GNAC Goalkeeper of the Year, Hayley Winslow (Falmouth, Maine), Elyse Caiazzo (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus), Arianna Kahler (Lisbon, Maine), and Maddy Beaulieu (Gardiner, Maine) all return.
The Monks will open up their fall campaign by traveling to Wellesley on Friday, September 1. The SJC-Simmons contest is scheduled for Saturday, October 14 at Simmons' Daly Field.
Lasell College sat in the fourth position with 41 points in the poll, followed by Mount Ida College with 31 points, Anna Maria College with 23 points, the GNAC's newest full core member Regis (Mass.) with 18 points, and Rivier University with 11 points.
The GNAC Tournament will open up with first-round play on Saturday, October 28, with the championship contest taking place on Saturday, November 4 at the highest remaining seed.
2017 GNAC Field Hockey Preseason Poll
1. Saint Joseph's of Maine (5) – 60
2. Simmons (2) – 58
3. Johnson & Wales (1) – 46
4. Lasell – 41
5. Mount Ida – 31
6. Anna Maria – 23
7. Regis (Mass.) – 18
8. Rivier - 11
#GOMONKS
Follow Saint Joseph's Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram!
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 474-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.
