STANDISH, Maine – The Saint Joseph's College field hockey program enjoyed great success over the last 10 years, with four Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championships and a composite 143-53 (.730) overall record since the start of the 2010 campaign. In recapping the decade, we have picked our top 10 games from the last 10 seasons and produced a 2010's record book as well as stat-filled infographics, which are embedded from our Instagram account below.
Particularly in the last 4-5 years, the Monks have been routinely ranked regionally and received votes in the majority of the Penn Monto/NFHCA national polls during the 2018 campaign.
This feature is the second in a series of "Tale of the 2010's" releases with similar exhaustive recaps for all SJC programs to follow.
Disclaimer: The Top 10 Games of the 2010's list below was pieced together by the SJC Sports Information staff in coordination with current and recent coaching staff members - we are sure some folks will disagree with the order and/or omission of particular games. Please know we did our best and have the view that comments and discussion are welcome!
Be sure to check out the embedded Instagram graphics (bottom of the page) for an in-depth look at the last decade of SJC field hockey!
2010's NOTABLES:
- In the conference, the Monks have the most wins overall (93) and in GNAC play (37) since the league began sponsoring field hockey in 2014
- SJC has the most yearly GNAC honors (Coach of the Year, etc.) with 12 as well as the most All-Conference accolades (38)
- The field hockey program has posted an incredible 31-3 (.912) record at the SJC Athletics Complex
- Including tournament games, the Monks have not lost to a GNAC team since 2017, a streak of 23 games – the team's last loss versus a conference foe was a 2-1 setback at Lasell on October 7th, 2017
- The field hockey program is one of just three SJC teams to have won four-consecutive GNAC Championships - baseball (2010-14) and softball (2011-14) are the others
TOP 10 GAMES OF THE 2010's
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#1 - MONKS STUN #10 MONTCLAIR STATE IN NCAA OPENING ROUND - 11/9/2016 - Montclair, N.J. Freshman forward Libby Pomerleau (Limerick, Maine) scored with 16:58 remaining in the second half for the only goal of the game as Saint Joseph's College edged #10 Montclair State, 1-0 in the first round of the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship at Sprague Field. IMPACT: The victory was the first NCAA Tournament triumph in program history as the Monks advanced to the "Sweet 16" with the win. The Royal Blue traveled nearly 350 miles to Montclair, New Jersey to take on the 10th-ranked team in the nation in hostile territory just four days after winning the GNAC Championship in Portland. NOTEWORTHY:
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#2 - LATE POMERLEAU STRIKE LEADS MONKS TO FIRST-EVER CONFERENCE TITLE - 11/5/2016 - Portland, Maine Freshman forward Libby Pomerleau (Limerick, Maine) scored in the 64th minute to lift Saint Joseph's College past Simmons College, 1-0, in the 2016 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Field Hockey Championship at Deering Memorial Stadium. IMPACT: With the victory, Saint Joseph's claimed the first conference crown and subsequent NCAA DIII National Tournament berth in the 22-year history of the program. Since 2008, the Monks had appeared in a conference title bout on six occasions – including a 1-0 setback at the hands of the Sharks in Boston in 2015 – with four losses being decided by one goal and two either coming in overtime or penalty strokes. NOTEWORTHY:
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#3 - Monks Suffer Heartbreaking Loss in NAC Championship - 11/5/2011 - Standish, Maine Fifth-seeded Husson University tipped #2 Saint Joseph's College, 2-1 in penalty strokes, in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Championship at Lakeside Field. IMPACT: In a contest described by Head Coach Rupert Lewis as "the most emotional game of my career," the title bout stood at a 1-1 stalemate after 70 minutes of regulation play and the Monks seemed to net the clincher just 48 seconds into overtime. But as the hosts began to celebrate on the field, the goal was called off, as the shot taken by TJ Cowin (Newry, Maine) was ruled illegal by the officials. After two action-packed 15-minute OT periods failed to produce a winner, the championship headed to penalty strokes, during which the Eagles prevailed, 3-2. Although the game went down as a loss, it served as a lasting memory for Coach Lewis and all involved that day and made the team's first conference championship five years later that much sweeter. NOTEWORTHY:
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#4 - Monks Stun Top-Seeded Lasers in GNAC Championship - 11/4/2017 - Auburndale, Mass. Second-seeded Saint Joseph's College scored three second-half goals to defeat top-seeded Lasell College, 3-0, in the 2017 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Field Hockey Championship at Lasell's Grellier Field. Sophomore forward Libby Pomerleau (Limerick, Maine) scored a pair of goals and junior Kara Kelly (York, Maine) netted her fourth marker of the year in what was the Monks' second-consecutive conference championship. IMPACT: The title was not only the Monks' second straight, but also proved to be the program's first of three-consecutive conference championship wins over the Lasers as the power balance in the GNAC began to sway in the Royal Blue's favor with the 2017 trophy. NOTEWORTHY:
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#5 - Monks Top Thoroughbreds in Opener, 3-2 - 8/31/2018 - Standish, Maine Saint Joseph's College opened the 2018 campaign with a 3-2 victory over Skidmore College in non-conference field hockey action at the SJC Athletics Complex. The Monks faced a 1-0 deficit early in the first half but rallied with three unanswered goals, including a pair from junior Libby Pomerleau (Limerick, Maine) over a span of two minutes, and another late from Kayla Veilleux (Sabattus, Maine) to claim the victory over the Thoroughbreds. IMPACT: The victory served as retribution for the Monks, who fell to Skidmore in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament by a 2-0 score. NOTEWORTHY:
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#6 - Saint Joseph's Edges Kean in Double Overtime, 2-1 - 9/16/2018 - Standish, Maine Sophomore Alexandra Belaire (Greene, Maine) scored on a penalty corner in the 87th minute to lift Saint Joseph's College past Kean University, 2-1, in double-overtime on a balmy Sunday afternoon at the SJC Athletics Complex. After a scoreless first half, the Monks grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 45th minute on a well-executed corner play, as Belaire took a short pass from senior Arianna Kahler (Lisbon Falls, Maine) and belted a shot past the Kean goalkeeper. The Cougars tied the game just over 20 minutes later and Saint Joseph's withstood the visitors' considerable offensive pressure for the remainder of regulation and the first OT frame to set the stage for Belaire, who netted a carbon copy goal 1:36 into the second extra period to lift the hosts to a thrilling triumph. IMPACT: The win over Kean, a perennial NJAC contender that advanced to the Elite 8 of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, saw the Monks improve to 7-0 on the season and gave the team confidence they could play with anyone in the country. NOTEWORTHY:
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#7 - Monks Win Third-Consecutive GNAC Championship!! - 11/4/2018 - Standish, Maine Junior forward Libby Pomerleau (Limerick, Maine) scored twice and senior defender Arianna Kahler (Lisbon Falls, Maine) tallied a pair of assists to help top-seeded Saint Joseph's College topple #2 Lasell College, 4-0, in the 2018 GNAC Championship at the SJC Athletics Complex. IMPACT: The championship was the Monks' third-consecutive title - and second-straight over the Lasers - and saw the team's record improve to 19-1 overall. NOTEWORTHY:
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#8 - Saint Joseph's Stops Springfield, 2-1 - 9/20/2017 - Standish, Maine Saint Joseph's College handed Springfield College it's first loss of the season with a 2-1 victory over the Pride in non-conference field hockey action at the SJC Athletics Complex. Sophomore forward Libby Pomerleau (Limerick, Maine) and senior defender Hayley Winslow (Falmouth, Maine) scored first-half goals and junior goalkeeper Megan Baker (Gorham, Maine) made six saves to defeat the Pride, which entered the contest with a 5-0 record. IMPACT: Coming off a disappointing one-sided loss at Kean three days earlier, the Monks kicked off a six-game winning streak with a solid victory over an undefeated team that had received votes in the most recent Penn Monto/NFHCA national poll. NOTEWORTHY:
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#9 - Monks Collect 2-1 Victory Over Kean in 2011 Home-Opener - 9/10/2011 - Standish, Maine Sophomore forward TJ Cowin (Newry, Maine) lifted Saint Joseph's to a 2-1 victory over Kean University with a goal in the fourth minute of overtime in a non-conference field hockey contest at Lakeside Field. Trailing 1-0 after 20 minutes of play, the Monks proceeded to tally a pair of unanswered markers – including the game-tying goal in the 56th minute – en route to victory despite being outshot by a sizable 19-8 margin. IMPACT: The Monks' first big win of the decade came against a powerhouse program from New Jersey, which is regarded as one of the toughest regions in the country. NOTEWORTHY:
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#10 - Monks Shoot Past Lasers in GNAC Championship, 4-0 - 11/9/2019 - Standish, Maine #1 Saint Joseph's cruised past #2 Lasell University, 4-0, in the 2019 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Field Hockey Championship at the SJC Athletics Complex. In one of the most anticlimactic championship games in recent memory, the Monks held convincing leads in shots (32-1), shots on goal (21-0), and penalty corners (16-1) as freshman Megan Quirion (Oakland, Maine) netted a pair of goals in the one-sided triumph. IMPACT: The field hockey program became just the third SJC team to claim four-consecutive GNAC Championships as the stickers joined the baseball (2010-14) and softball (2011-14) programs on the short list. NOTEWORTHY:
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