STANDISH, ME – The SJC Men's Lacrosse program looks to pick up where it left off last spring – as a team on the rise in the New England Region.
The Monks made a huge leap in the right direction last season when the squad finished 10-8 overall and 5-4 in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) play under the guidance of Head Coach Mike Edgar, who is entering his fourth season at the helm. The 2010 win total nearly doubled the Monks' victories in the program's first two varsity seasons combined.
The 2010 team broke 17 season records, including points (323), goals (207), ground balls (841) and goals against average (9.12) and capped the year ranked fourth in all of NCAA DIII Men's Lacrosse with 46.72 ground balls per game and seventh in man-down defense (.854).
Saint Joseph's seems poised to make some noise in a new conference this season. The men's lacrosse team will join the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) after playing as an NCAA III Independent in 2008 and participating in the NAC for two years. Overall, 13 SJC programs compete in the GNAC.
St. Joe's returns 19 players from the 2010 roster, including leading scorer and NAC Co-Rookie of the Year Spencer Hunt '13 (Jeffersonville, VT), Second Team All-NAC defender Albert Comins '13 (Newbury, MA), and netminder Christopher Driscoll '13 (Saco, ME).
Hunt enjoyed a special year, particularly for a rookie, with new team records in assists (34), points (76), shots on goal (81) and game-winning goals (4) in 2010. His 42 goals last spring ranks second in the SJC single-season annals.
Comins registered 77 ground balls and a team-record 36 caused turnovers in 2010 while Driscoll essentially rewrote the SJC goalkeeping record book during his freshman campaign. The first-year keeper set single-season records for games (13), minutes (694), saves (148), save percentage (.571) and shots faced (413) last spring.
Other top returners include Paul Dolewa '12 (Saco, ME), Kody Peckham '11 (West Gardiner, ME), and Benson Pasquarello '12 (Kennebunk, ME). The trio combined to net 74 goals and 107 total points last year.
Elliot LaMarre '11 (Raymond, ME), one of the best face-off men in the region, also returns, as does a healthy Jonathan Horgan '12 (Hingham, MA), the Monks' leading scorer in 2009 who essentially missed the entire 2010 campaign after suffering an injury in the season-opener.
Saint Joseph's also has a talented first-year class ready to make an impact on the field. Attacker Zachary Chaisson '14 (Concord, NH), midfielders Andrew Hamill '14 (Wolfeboro, NH) and Jake Ricciardi '14 (Sharon, MA), and long-stick midi Robert Murtha '13 (North Kingstown, RI) are expected to contribute immediately.
The Monks will kick off the 2011 campaign with three contests at Deering Memorial Stadium in Portland. St. Joe's hosts Salem State on Saturday, March 5th at 12:45 PM before facing Southern Maine (3/7, 4:00 PM) and Thomas College (3/9, 4:45 PM).
For the second consecutive season, the Monks will travel during spring break. Saint Joseph's makes a trek to Maryland over break where the team will face Hood College (MD) on March 12th and Frostburg State on March 14th.
