STANDISH, ME - The Saint Joseph's College men's soccer program enjoyed unprecedented success under the guidance of third-year Head Coach Steve Babineau last fall.
The Monks captured the program's first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) title just two years prior, but uncertainty loomed as the Monks suffered a letdown 2010 campaign, having gone 6-11-2 overall and 3-5-1 in GNAC play with an early exit in the conference tourney. Considering the side featured 17 freshman and sophomores on the 2011 roster, it's likely that few outside the program boasted high expectations going into the new season.
But the veteran players returned to campus for pre-season training hungry to prove that the 2010 campaign was a fluke, the second-year guys came back more polished, and the new faces would make an impact in every facet of the game. As a result, the Monks went 14-6 overall and 7-3 in GNAC matches, rolled through the conference tournament en route to the program's second GNAC Championship in three seasons, and earned an NCAA Tournament berth for the second time in program history.
The season was a success in many ways, including in the program record book as the 2011 side broke the SJC men's soccer marks for winning percentage (.700), fewest losses (6), and most shots (373) and tied the team records for wins (14), goals (43), total points (117), and fewest goals allowed (20) last fall.
The side's six losses came by a combined total of nine goals as the Monks suffered four one-score losses, including two in overtime, on the season. The team posted eight shutout victories and allowed more than two goals just three times all year.
The Monks opened the year by splitting a pair of games in the Southern Maine Fall Classic, defeating Salve Regina by a 1-0 score before falling to MIT, 3-1, the following day. In the opener, second-year keeper Kenny Grade (Hampton, N.H./St. Thomas Aquinas) made five saves to record his first career shutout and Zach Johnson (Westbrook, Maine) netted the game-winner in his inaugural game with the Monks.
Saint Joseph's proceeded to win five of the next six matches and held a 6-2 record after defeating GNAC-rival Suffolk University, 2-1, in Boston on September 28th. Three of the Monks' victories during the stretch came by way of the shutout - as the Royal Blue blanked USM, Maine-Farmington and Anna Maria College - and the only setback, a 2-1 overtime loss, came at the hands of Albertus Magnus College, the eventual GNAC Tournament top-seed, at home on September 17th.
St. Joe's went on to drop consecutive contests for the only such occurrence of the 2011 campaign, falling to Emmanuel College, 1-0 in OT on October 1st, and losing to Endicott College, 3-0, in a non-conference tilt three days later.
The short losing spell seemed to spark the side, as the Monks lost just one game - a 3-2 setback at the hands of Lasell College on October 15th - during the remainder of the regular season. As it turned out, the Royal Blue would not fall on the wrong side of the box score until nearly a month later when the Monks fell to Trinity College, 1-0, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on November 12th.
The two-game shutout skid also jumpstarted the SJC offense, which managed to average nearly three goals per game and outscore opponents by a 29-9 margin over the Monks' final 10 contests of the season. The scoring surge began with a 4-0 win over Rivier College on October 8th. Junior back Joe Murphy (Poland, Maine) recorded his first collegiate brace in the home victory.
St. Joe's lit up the scoreboard again in a 4-2 triumph at Johnson & Wales two days later, as Johnson, Mike Sanfilippo (Walpole, Mass.), Ross Suleski (Amesbury, Mass./St. Thomas Aquinas), and Ali Hersi (Lewiston, Maine) all found the back of the net in the GNAC win.
The Monks tallied four goals for the third consecutive game in a 4-0 non-conference win over Worcester State on October 12th. Johnson recorded his first NCAA brace while Fabrice Iraduha (Portland, Maine) and Calvin Servaes (Hull, Mass.) notched a goal apiece and Grade recorded four saves in his third shutout of the year.
The three-game win streak came to an end with a 3-2 loss at Lasell on October 15th as an SJC own-goal proved to be the difference. Fortunately, the Monks closed out the regular season with a 1-0 win over Emerson on October 19th and a 3-1 triumph against Mount Ida three days later. With the wins, St. Joe's rolled into the GNAC Tournament as the #2 seed and having won five of the side's last six matches.
The tourney began for the Monks on October 29th when the Royal Blue hosted Suffolk University in a quarterfinal contest. St. Joe's overpowered the visiting Rams, 3-0, with the help of two Johnson goals and six saves by Grade and advanced to the semifinal round with the convincing win.
Saint Joseph's hosted #6 Emmanuel College in the semifinals on November 3rd and the scoring barrage continued in a 4-1 victory over the Saints. Suleski, Johnson, and Sanfilippo netted goals and Nick Lemieux (Thomaston, Maine) registered his first collegiate marker late in the contest. The SJC men's soccer team had never scored more than three goals in a postseason match prior to the semifinal win over Emmanuel.
With the victory, St. Joe's was set to appear in the GNAC Championship game for the third time in the last four seasons and would face #4 Norwich University, a team that upset top-seeded Albertus Magnus College with an 88th-minute score in the other semifinal match. As a result, Westerlea Way Field would host a conference title bout for the second time in three seasons.
The championship game, played on November 5th, looked to be a defensive struggle in the early going, but Johnson and Sanfilippo scored a goal apiece in a matter of five minutes midway through the first half, giving the hosts plenty of momentum and the capacity crowd reason to make some noise.
The Cadets answered in the 40th minute and the contest headed into intermission with St. Joe's owning a 2-1 lead. The score held true until McIntyre and Hersi tallied goals just three minutes apart late in the second stanza, making it a 4-1 game with 12 minutes to play. The quick scores erased any hope of a comeback for the Cadets, who managed to steer just two shots on net for the remainder of the match.
After the closing buzzer rang, 500-plus fans charged the field to celebrate with the 2011 GNAC Champions and a brief ceremony was held to honor the Monks, during which Sanfilippo was named as the tournament MVP and Johnson, Grade, Palmer, and McIntyre collected All-Tournament honors.
With the conference title, Saint Joseph's claimed an automatic berth into the 2011 NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament and was set to make a national tourney appearance for the second time in three seasons. In 2009, the Monks faced Wesleyan College in the NCAA Tournament and fell in the opening-round tilt by a 2-0 margin. Wesleyan, ranked 11th in the nation at the time, advanced to the Sweet 16 that fall.
St. Joe's would take on another NESCAC program this time around as the Monks would play Trinity College at Babson College – an NCAA Tournament pod host – on Saturday, November 12th. The Bantams, ranked sixth in New England, fell to Amherst College, the #4 team in the country, in the NESCAC Championship game but earned an at-large berth into the "big dance."
Although the Monks and Bantams had never before met on the soccer pitch, the NCAA tourney tilt played out as if the sides knew each other quite well. Through excellent scouting efforts, the match was a defensive battle, particularly in a scoreless first half when the limited scoring opportunities were snuffed out by Grade and his counterpart, Trinity senior Grant Schonberg.
Defenses tightened considerably in the second half, but the Bantams managed to score the game's lone marker in the 53rd minute on an odd-man rush. All six of the Monks' latter-half shots were off target, with four sailing wide or high of the net and two being blocked by defenders.
The loss signaled the end of collegiate soccer for the team's four seniors: Lemieux, Sanfilippo, Jesse West (Enosburg Falls, Vt.), and Zak Hollingshead (Westerly, R.I.). Saint Joseph's posted a 46-32-6 (.590) record, including a stellar 23-12-2 (.657) mark versus GNAC opponents, with the 2012 graduating class in the fold. The four-year win total and subsequent winning percentage both ranking as team bests by wide margins.
NOTEWORTHY INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES:
- Five SJC players earned All-Conference awards. Johnson and Palmer both garnered First Team All-GNAC honors while Sanfilippo collected Second Team mention and McIntyre and Jack LaFreniere (Alton, N.H.) claimed Third Team accolades.
- Matt Barlion (Auburn, Maine), LaFreniere, Lemieux, McIntyre, Sanfilippo, Suleski, and West were honored for excellence in the classroom with GNAC All-Academic Team mention.
- Johnson enjoyed an outstanding year, having scored a program single-season record 17 goals with four assists for 38 total points – the second-highest total in team history. Eight of his 17 markers were of the game-winning variety, a tally that also set a new team high-water mark.
- Sanfilippo closed out his fine collegiate career with his best offensive season, netting personal-highs in goals (8), assists (4), points (20), shots (35), and game-winning goals (2) as a second-year team captain. He capped his four years as the Monks' all-time leader in games played (82) and was recognized for his college play with a spot on the 2011 New England Intercollegiate Soccer League Senior All-Star Game roster - the first Saint Joseph's player to earn this prestigious honor.
- Suleski also posted a breakout season with three goals and nine assists for 15 points as a second-year player. The sophomore forward ranked second in the GNAC in helpers and his 2011 assist tally ranks as the second-most ever dealt by an SJC player in a single season.
- After appearing in just four games and notching 55 total minutes as a freshman, Grade recorded perhaps the biggest breakthrough by a Monks player last fall and his development – augmented by working out with New England Revolution keeper Matt Reis during the summer months – was a key piece in the side's success. In 2011, the sophomore went 11-5 with five shutouts and allowed only 18 goals with 78 saves in 1594 minutes between the pipes en route to posting stellar GAA (1.02) and SV% (.812) marks.
- With the 2011 GNAC title, Coach Babineau became just the second Saint Joseph's College head coach to claim two conference championships in his first three seasons at the helm, joining the SJC women's basketball clipboard carrier, Mike McDevitt '83, in the exclusive club. In three seasons, Coach Babineau has posted a 34-25-3 (.576) record, including a 17-10-1 (.630) mark in GNAC play, and enters his fourth year just 12 wins short of becoming the men's soccer program's all-time winningest coach.