STANDISH, ME - The Saint Joseph's Men's Soccer program continued on its quick ascent to regional prominence in 2009, as the top-seeded Monks, 14-8-1 overall and 7-2 in GNAC play, realized two of the team's primary goals this fall: a Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship and a subsequent berth into the NCAA Tournament.

With the title, the 2009 men's soccer side joined the Saint Joseph's baseball (2008), men's basketball (2009) and women's cross country (2007, 2008) programs on the list of teams that have attained GNAC championships since the Monks joined the conference in the fall of 2007.

The most successful season in team history, 14-8-1 with a .636 winning percentage, becomes more impressive considering the fact that four of the eight Monks' losses, and one tie, came to opponents who earned NCAA Tournament berths. Those five teams held a collective .766 (59-18-11) winning percentage.

After posting a 5-11-3 record and losing in the first round of the GNAC tourney in 2007, the Monks advanced to the conference championship and went 12-7-3 - the program's first winning season since 2001 - with the team's first ECAC Tournament berth in 2008. Needless to say, optimism was gushing for the St. Joe's faithful when the prospects of the 2009 season came into consideration.

Looking back at the Monks' outstanding campaign, several potential roadblocks to success existed. Top midfielder Kevin Melega '09 and ace defender Lane Hubacz '09, both All-Conference players in 2008, were lost to graduation and one of the most difficult schedules in New England was at hand. Not to mention, a new head coach, Steve Babineau, was now in the fold. How would the Monks respond?

As it turned out, the 2009 SJC side was up to the challenge. Heading into the season, with several unknowns, including how the team would respond to a new coaching staff, it's likely few forecasted such a bright outlook for a side that became the first SJC men's soccer team to go without losing consecutive games in a single season.

The Monks kicked off the season on September 1^st with a 2-0 victory over Framingham State at Westerlea Way Field. With a goal and an assist in the triumph, Doug MacCallum '10 (Hingham, MA) broke the program record for points (61), which was previously held by Michael Herrick '01.

From here the Monks traveled to Patchogue, NY to participate in the St. Joseph's (L.I.) Tournament. St. Joe's gained valuable experience against top-level sides on this trip, as the Royal Blue squared off against St. Joseph's (L.I.), an eventual NCAA Tournament participant, and Plattsburgh State, a team that sat near the top of the NCAA East Region rankings all season. The Monks played well against St. Joe's (L.I.) in the opener, but two quick goals by the Eagles sealed a 3-2 loss for the visitors. The following day, against Plattsburgh in the consolation match, Jesse West '12 (Sheldon, VT) netted a late goal for the Monks to knot the game, 2-2. Two scoreless overtime stanzas ensued, but for tourney purposes the game headed into penalty kicks, where the Monks out-dueled the Cardinals to capture consolation honors.

A 2-0 loss to Worcester State at home on September 10^th dropped the Royal Blue to 1-2-1, but the Monks went on to rattle off three straight victories over Johnson & Wales, Husson and Albertus Magnus to improve the outlook. The 3-0 win over Albertus started an interesting string of 14 straight games in which the Monks or their opponent did not score a goal.

On September 20^th, St. Joe's, 4-2-1 overall, and 2-0 in GNAC play, faced eventual NCAA qualifier Bowdoin College at Westerlea Way. The Polar Bears trumped the Monks, 2-0, in a hard-fought match, but the result was a far cry from the previous meeting between the in-state rivals. Bowdoin pummeled St. Joe's, 10-0, in 2004.

After not defeating them for 18 years, Saint Joseph's defeated University of Maine-Farmington for the second time in two seasons on September 24^th in Standish. Freshman Corey Grant (Haverhill, MA) scored off a Paul Robins '11 (Cornwall, England) pass in the 58^th minute to lift the Monks over the Beavers, 1-0, and Will Pike '10 (Gorham, ME) made four stops in net to register his fourth shutout of the year.

Sitting at 5-3-1 overall and 2-0 in GNAC play, St. Joe's entered the crux of its conference docket with five consecutive league matches. After suffering a 2-0 setback to Suffolk on September 26^th, the Monks headed to Emerson College and defeated the Lions with goals from MacCallum and Robins. Pike made eight saves in his fifth shutout bid of the season.

Six days later Saint Joseph's hosted Norwich University in a much-anticipated rematch of the 2008 GNAC Championship. Norwich tipped St. Joe's, 2-1, in Northfield, VT in the 2008 title match, and the Monks circled this date, October 10^th, on their calendar in hopes of avenging the difficult loss on a lesser stage. St. Joe's accomplished just that, as MacCallum netted the game's only goal off a Corey Grant dish in the 52^nd minute to push his team into the win column. Pike made four stops and recorded his 14^th career shutout to tie Michael Bolanz '00 for the program record.

St. Joe's endured a disappointing 1-0 loss to a talented Lasell team two days later to fall to 7-5-1 overall and 4-2 in conference contests. The defeat seemed to provide the Monks with an edge for the remainder of the season, as St. Joe's went 7-3 in the team's final 10 contests, starting with a 2-0 triumph over GNAC rival Mount Ida on October 17^th. After 60 minutes of scoreless play, MacCallum and Andre Cushing '10 (Hampden, ME) tallied markers within three minutes to break the Mustangs' stride. Pike recorded three saves and surpassed Bolanz for the program's career shutouts record in the victory.

The following day, Saint Joseph's travelled to Norton, MA to take on Wheaton College, the fourth-ranked team in the NSCAA New England Region Poll at the time. The Lyons topped the Monks, 2-0, in monsoon conditions, but the St. Joe's side gained confidence after holding the hosts scoreless for the first 70 minutes of play.

Saint Joseph's went on to notch a pair of 1-0 victories over USM and Emmanuel and held 10-6-1 overall and 6-2 GNAC records after topping the Saints on October 24^th. The triumph over the Huskies, which was the first SJC win against the neighboring program since the 2002 season, was provided by an overtime tally off the foot of Robins. MacCallum lifted the Monks to victory over Emmanuel with a 62^nd minute tally and Pike continued his assault on the goalkeeping section of the men's soccer record book by breaking his own record for single season shutouts (9) in the win over the Saints.

The Monks allowed three goals, for just the second time all season, to regionally-recognized Amherst College on October 25^th, but St. Joe's continued the trend of not losing two straight and hit a hot streak right as the conference tournament neared. In their next game, which was senior day, the Monks defeated GNAC opponent Rivier College, 3-0, to collect the top seed in the GNAC Tournament. Jack LaFreniere '13 (Alton, NH) netted a pair of goals, while the stingy SJC defense did not allow the Raiders a shot on net in the win.

Saint Joseph's hosted #8 seed Johnson & Wales in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs and made short work of the Wildcats after requiring two overtime periods to defeat them during the regular season. At the 12:55 mark, MacCallum netted his seventh game-winner of the fall and LaFreniere scored just 17 seconds later to put the game out of reach early. MacCallum added a late goal to make the final score 3-0, Monks, and Pike made five stops between the pipes.

The Monks then earned a 2-1 win over the Cadets of Norwich University in the GNAC Semifinal round to advance to the title bout. West, a sneaky sniper off the bench, jumpstarted the SJC effort with a 41^st minute tally and LaFreniere continued his offensive outburst in the tourney with the eventual game-clincher 10 minutes into the second half. The Cadets made the game interesting after scoring in the 84^th minute, but St. Joe's survived a late Norwich surge to advance to the GNAC Championship for the second consecutive season.

The first men's soccer conference championship match held at Westerlea Way Field lived up to its billing and then some. The Monks were denied by Emerson keeper Noah Price on a handful of excellent scoring opportunities and the game stood at a scoreless stalemate after 70 minutes of play. LaFreniere provided the Royal Blue with all of its offense, as the freshman phenom beat Price twice in a five minute span. The Lions received an 82^nd minute goal from Zach Hayward, but were unable to tie the game despite some late scoring chances. When the final buzzer rang, the crowd of over 500 fans rushed the field to celebrate with their 2009 GNAC Champions.

On November 9^th the NCAA Tournament bracket was released and St. Joe's was selected to take on Wesleyan College. The Monks battled the Cardinals, who entered the game ranked 4^th in the region and 11^th in the country, but goals in the 32^nd and 72 minutes sank the SJC hopes of an upset. In soggy conditions, Pike made seven stops and Robins, who steered three shots on goal in the loss, was denied by Wesleyan keeper Adam Purdy on several occasions.

Although disappointing, the NCAA Tournament loss could not dampen the efforts of a Monks side that put the Saint Joseph's program on the New England Region map. St. Joe's led the conference in all defensive categories and ranked highly in the region in goals allowed and save percentage. The 2009 side placed seven players on the all-conference team, including Pike who captured GNAC Defensive Player of the Year honors, and broke 21 program and individual records on its way to the first NCAA Tournament berth in team history.

The 2010 graduating class witnessed the most successful four-year span in team history, as the Monks posted an aggregate 40-37 record and subsequent .519 winning percentage from 2006 to 2009.

Outstanding Individual Performances:

• MacCallum paced the Monks with 12 goals, 27 points and 7 GWG as a senior and leaves the program owning the career records for goals (38), points (87), GWG (13) and shots (183). The senior forward captured All-GNAC Second Team honors for the second straight season.
• Pike garnered All-GNAC First Team honors for the second consecutive campaign and was selected as GNAC Defensive Player of the Year after leading the league in essentially all keeper categories. Pike closed out his two-year SJC career with an excellent effort: 0.87 goals-against average, .855 save percentage and 11 shutouts. He leaves the Monks with four career records (GAA, SV%, wins, shutouts) and five single-season marks (games, minutes, GAA, wins, shutouts).
• Cushing and Greg Cavanaugh '10 (Haverhill, MA) joined Pike on the GNAC First Team. Cushing finished the year tied for the team lead in assists (4) and fourth in points (8) and Cavanaugh emerged as one of the top defensive players in the conference.
• Robins also received Second Team honors for the second time after netting 4 goals and 4 assists for 12 total points as a junior. With one season remaining in his career, the junior midfielder already owns the program's career assist record (16).
• Tim Davison '12 (Danvers, MA) and Michael Sanfilippo '12 (Walpole, MA) were selected as Third Team All-Conference honorees. Two of the most athletic players on the team, Davison tallied a pair of assists and Sanfilippo notched a pair of goals in 2009.
• LaFreniere kicked off his collegiate career in style, as the first-year player ranked second on the team in goals (7), points (17) and GWG (4). Six of LaFreniere's goals came in the Monks' final five games, including four in the playoffs. Grant played well as a frosh, netting 2 goals and 2 assists for 6 points, and two other first-years, Matt Barlion (Auburn, ME/St. Dominic) and Gerald Cushing (Hampden, ME), both showed flashes of things to come.

Front (L-R): Tim Davison, Mike Sanfilippo, Greg Cavanaugh, Jesse West, Nicholas Burridge, Manager Chris Pinto Middle: Andre Cushing, Paul Robins, Joe Happnie, Nick Campasano, Matt Loiselle, Jack LaFreniere, Corey Grant, Assistant Coach Jeff Yaeger ‘04 Back: Head Coach Steve Babineau, Brandon Noltkamper, Doug MacCallum, Zak Hollingshead, Will Pike, Andrew Roberts, Matt Barlion, Gerald Cushing, Assistant Coach Shaun Breton Not Pictured: Banak Thiwat