STANDISH, ME – The Saint Joseph's College Men's Soccer team will take a run at winning the program's second-consecutive Great Northeast Athletic Conference title this fall.

The Monks lost seven seniors and five starters, including GNAC Defensive Player of the Year Will Pike '10 and leading scorer Doug MacCallum '10, from the 2009 GNAC Championship side, but Head Coach Steve Babineau has reloaded the roster with a sizeable incoming class infused with talent and experience.

Top returners include midfielders Paul Robins '11 (Cornwall, England) and Mike Sanfilippo '12 (Walpole, MA), along with backs Timothy Davison '12 (Danvers, MA) and Joe Happnie '11 (Rockland, MA). Sanfilippo, Davison and Robins, who tallied four goals and four assists as a junior, all garnered All-GNAC honors last season.

The Royal Blue Faithful should expect continued improvement from sophomores Jack LaFreniere (Alton, NH) and Matt Barlion (Auburn, ME), as both provided the Monks with offensive punch up front during the 2009 championship run.

Key newcomers include forwards Tyler Rand '13 (Westbrook, ME), Calvin Servaes '14 (Hull, MA) and Joe Murphy '14 (Poland, ME). Midfielders Greg Jentgen '14 (Columbus, OH) and Garrett Darnell '14 (Gray, ME) will patrol the heart of the pitch, while Teddy Palmer '14 (Scarborough, ME) and Dan McIntyre '14 (Sparta, NJ) are expected to help shore up the SJC defense. Palmer and Murphy are both UMaine transfers, while Rand comes to Saint Joseph's after a season at Gettysburg College (PA).

Saint Joseph's kicks off the 2010 campaign with a pair of contests in the 2010 Xara Classic, hosted by Keene State College, this coming weekend. The Monks will face off against Fitchburg State on Saturday at 12:00 PM and play Kean University on Sunday at 12:00 PM. St. Joe's will play Emerson College on Saturday, September 11th at 11:30 AM in the team's 2010 home-opener. The contest will also be a rematch of the 2009 GNAC Championship game.