STANDISH, ME - The Saint Joseph's College men's lacrosse team went 8-10 overall and 6-3 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play under the guidance of fifth-year Head Coach Mike Edgar last spring.

The Monks' GNAC record earned the program a conference tournament berth for the fourth-consecutive season.  Seeded fifth in the conference tourney, Saint Joseph's capped the 2012 campaign with a 9-4 loss at the hands of #4 Norwich University in a GNAC quarterfinal tilt on April 25th.

The hard-fought setback at the hands of the Cadets meant that the Monks fell short of their ultimate goal of claiming the program's first conference crown and subsequent NCAA Tournament berth, which was awarded to the GNAC men's lacrosse champion for the first time in 2012.

Although the lofty goal was not reached, the Monks continued to build towards regional prominence in the team's fifth year as a varsity program. Saint Joseph's faced perhaps its most difficult non-conference slate with contests versus Husson, Thomas, Southern Maine, FDU-Florham, Swarthmore, Salem State and Plymouth State.

The season began on March 3rd when St. Joe's traveled north to face former conference rival Husson University. Unable to get going offensively in the cold and rainy weather, the Monks opened the year with a 10-4 loss. Sophomore Jake Ricciardi (Sharon, Mass.) netted half the SJC scoring with a pair of markers and junior keeper Christopher Driscoll (Saco, Maine) made 13 stops on the afternoon.

Offense would not be an issue in the Monks' game versus Thomas College at Deering Memorial Stadium three days later, as the Royal Blue toppled the visiting Terriers by a 16-0 margin to even their record at 1-1. Senior attackman Jonathan Horgan (Hingham, Mass.) potted five markers and freshman Max Meserve (Kennebunk, Maine) dealt four assists in what was the fourth shutout victory in program history.

Following a 15-4 defeat at the hands of University of Southern Maine on March 8th, Saint Joseph's embarked on the program's annual spring trip and would face a pair of New Jersey metro-area teams - FDU-Florham and Swarthmore - during the southern swing. Facing tough competition from programs based in a lacrosse hotbed, the Monks dropped both contests but gained valuable playing experience in the process.

Saint Joseph's then returned to New England and suffered an 11-4 loss at Salem State University on March 20th. The Monks snapped their four-game losing streak with a solid 12-5 triumph over University of Maine-Farmington with the help of a three-goal, three-assist effort from Horgan two days later.

On March 24th, the Monks opened GNAC play with a conference contest at Anna Maria College, a new addition to the league last spring. Trailing 7-4 late in the second quarter, St. Joe's rallied with a 9-2 outburst and overtook the host AMCATS by a 13-11 score to improve to 3-5 overall and 1-0 in GNAC play. Again, it was Horgan who paced the SJC offense by scoring five goals and Driscoll made 11 stops in the triumph.

After falling to Plymouth State University by an 18-7 margin on March 27th, Saint Joseph's proceeded to post a pair of conference victories over Daniel Webster College and Becker College to close out the month of March 5-6 overall and 3-0 in GNAC competition.

Horgan and classmate Paul Dolewa (Saco, Maine) netted three goals apiece in a 13-5 win over Daniel Webster on March 29th and Ricciardi potted four markers to help lift the Monks to an 8-5 victory over Becker two days later.

Following a 16-4 loss to Lasell College on April 4th, Saint Joseph's went on to clinch wins over GNAC-rivals Emerson College and Emmanuel College to improve to 7-7 overall and 5-1 in conference contests.

Horgan became the first player in program history to net 100 career goals when he potted his second of four markers in the 20-10 triumph over Emerson on April 7th in Boston. Driscoll highlighted a stout SJC defensive effort by making 12 saves and Dolewa joined Horgan in the century club with his 100th career goal in a 9-4 win against Emmanuel three days later.

The Monks went on to lose a pair of defensive battles, falling 11-4 to Norwich on April 16th and suffering a hard-fought 11-7 setback at the hands of eventual GNAC Champion Mount Ida College three days later.

Saint Joseph's closed out the regular season with a convincing 18-2 victory over Rivier College on April 21st. Horgan recorded two goals and five assists and freshman attackman Andrew Sullivan (Rochester, N.H.) scored four goals to help the Royal Blue improve to 8-9 overall and 6-3 in conference play.

St. Joe's traveled to Northfield, Vermont to take on fourth-seeded Norwich in a GNAC Tournament quarterfinal four days later. Unable to overcome a lackluster first quarter in which the host-Cadets scored four goals, the Monks would see their season come to an abrupt end to the tune of a 9-4 tourney loss.

The setback signaled the end of collegiate lacrosse for the Monks' five seniors: Horgan, Dolewa, Kody Peckham (West Gardiner, Maine), Benson Pasquarello (Kennebunk, Maine) and Robert Murtha (North Kingstown, R.I.). The second senior class in program history helped the Royal Blue post a 32-38 (.457) record, including a 17-17 (.500) mark in conference contests, over the past four seasons.

NOTEWORTHY INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES:

• Horgan led the team in goals (41), points (61), shots (131), shots on goal (78) and ground balls (67), ranked second on the squad in assists (20) and man-up goals (8) and third in caused turnovers (18). A First Team All-GNAC selection for the second-consecutive season, Horgan ranked second in the conference in goals and third in points and scored at least one goal in all 16 games in which he played as a senior. For his efforts, he claimed First Team All-GNAC, GNAC All-Academic and Second Team All-ECAC accolades following the completion of the season and became the first SJC player to make an appearance in the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Senior Game last spring. He capped his career as the Monks' all-time leader in goals (111), assists (67) and points (178) and leaves the program ranking second shots (358), shots on goal (210) and man-up goals (19).
• Dolewa registered 20 goals and 13 assists for 33 total points with 10 man-up markers and 29 ground balls during his final NCAA season. He led the team in man-up goals and ranked second on the squad in goals, shots (127) and shots on goal (70) land eaves the program as the Monks' all-time leader in games (68), shots (526), shots on goal (270), man-up goals (30) and penalties (58). He also ranks second in the team's five-year history in goals (104), points (155), game-winning goals (3), ground balls (188) and penalty minutes (45) and third in assists (51).
• Meserve enjoyed a productive rookie season, as a led the team in assists (25) and was second on the team in total points (39) as a freshman.
• Driscoll posted a 9.47 goals against average with a .551 save percentage and registered an SJC single-season record 162 saves in 836:18 minutes between the pipes as a junior. He heads into his senior season ranked as the Monks' all-time leader in goalkeeper games (47), minutes (2,418), goals against average (9.21), saves (463), save percentage (.555), wins (23) and shots faced (1,399).
• Ace defender Albert Comins (Newbury, Mass.) garnered Second Team All-Conference honors for the third-consecutive season after racking up 45 ground balls and a conference-high 33 caused turnovers last spring. He closed out his junior season as the Monks' all-time leader with 96 caused turnovers and currently ranks third in career ground balls (173).