STANDISH, ME - The Saint Joseph's College men's lacrosse team, now in its sixth season as an NCAA DIII varsity program, looks to solidify its standing as one of the top teams in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) this spring.
If early returns are any indication, the 2013 squad could be on the verge of a special season. In the season-opener on Tuesday night at Deering Memorial Stadium, the Monks toppled Husson University by a 14-4 score on the heels of 12 unanswered goals. Saint Joseph's employed a suffocating defensive effort and saw seven different players score in the program's first-ever victory over the Eagles.
Head Coach Mike Edgar, the only skipper this program has ever known, guided the Monks to an 8-10 overall record and a 6-3 mark in GNAC play en route to claiming the #5 seed in the conference tourney a year ago. Playing at #4 Norwich University in a GNAC Tournament quarterfinal contest, Saint Joseph's fell short in a defensive battle with a 9-4 setback at the hands of the Cadets, a loss that brought an end to the 2012 campaign.
The Monks, who played in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) in 2009 and 2010, have advanced to the postseason in each of the last five years but have only one victory - a 10-9 triumph over Becker College in a 2011 quarterfinal matchup - during this spell. With a roster featuring 12 seniors, this year's team seems to have the leadership, experience and depth to substantially increase the program's playoff win total.
One of the challenges this team faces is replacing the scoring lost to graduation last spring, as departed seniors Jonathan Horgan, Paul Dolewa and Benson Pasquarello combined to score 71 of the Monks' 156 markers in 2012. Horgan and Dolewa stand as the only two players in team history to net 100 career goals and the closest player to the century mark on the current roster - junior midfielder Jake Ricciardi (Sharon, Mass.) - has 39 markers to his credit.
The staple of the 2013 men's lacrosse team appears to be defense. The backline features three starting seniors, a group led by three-time All-Conference honoree Bert Comins (Newbury, Mass.), as well as Christopher Driscoll (Saco, Maine), a fourth-year starter in goal who owns virtually all of the program's goalkeeping records.
Overall, the Monks return 23 players from the 2012 including a group of starters and key reserves from a year ago. Sophomore attackmen Max Meserve (Kennebunk, Maine) and Andrew Sullivan (Rochester, N.H.) and senior defenders Comins and Connolly return as starters this spring. Ricciardi, junior Andrew Hamill (Wolfeboro, N.H.) and sophomore Colby Main (Jericho, Vt.) step up to starting roles in the midfield after coming off the bench last spring.
Other key players in the midfield rotation include seniors Jordan Grant (Windsor, Maine), Blake Doherty (Burlington, Mass.) and LSM Sam Wenckus (Pittston, Maine), junior LSM Dominic Cesarini (Bow, N.H.) and sophomores Dalton Eldridge (South Gardiner, Maine) and Alex O'Neil (Parkland, Fla.). Junior face-off specialist Ahmed Dorghoud (Alexandria, Va.) also returns, as do seniors Bryan Johnson (Brookline, N.H.) and Jack LaFreniere (Alton, N.H.) - a pair of potential impact players who sat out last season.
The incoming freshman class boasts three promising young athletes in midfielder Jake O'Brien (Andover, Mass.), attackman Austin Watts (Westbrook, Maine) and LSM Jeremy Sampsonis (Shrewsbury, Mass.). The coaching staff will look for this trio to contribute immediately, as all three bring a strong lacrosse acumen and much-needed size and skill to the table.
