STANDISH, ME - The 2012 Saint Joseph's College men's soccer schedule has been released. The Monks will play 18 games this fall with a slate that includes 10 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tilts and eight non-league contests.
St. Joe's, winners of two of the last three GNAC Championships under the watch of fourth-year Head Coach Steve Babineau, looks to defend the 2011 title with the help of a healthy out-of-conference schedule. Non-conference opponents include University of Southern Maine, UMass.-Dartmouth, Thomas, Bates, Maine-Farmington, Bowdoin, Endicott, and Maine-Presque Isle.
The 18-game schedule features seven matches at home, as St. Joe's takes on Johnson & Wales, Emerson, Suffolk, Emmanuel, Endicott, Maine-Presque Isle, and Lasell at Westerlea Way Field this fall. The Monks' 18 opponents combined to post a 132-172-20 (.434) record last fall and St. Joe's owns an all-time record of 69-89-13 (.437) versus the group.
The current side has not faced several teams listed on the 2012 docket. The Monks have not played UMass.-Dartmouth and Bates since the 2005 campaign while Maine-Presque Isle and Thomas have not been included on the men's soccer schedule since the 2007 and 2008 seasons, respectively.
The 2012 campaign begins with a two-game stint in the USM Soccer Classic in Gorham, Maine as the Royal Blue face off against the host-Huskies at 1:30 PM on Friday, August 31st. The Monks face another Little East Conference foe in UMass.-Dartmouth the following afternoon at 2:00 PM.
The 2012 home-opener takes place on Saturday, September 8th when the Monks host Johnson & Wales in a GNAC contest starting at 1:00 PM. St. Joe's does not return to the friendly confines of Westerlea Way Field for three weeks as team takes to the road for four consecutive away games, beginning with a non-conference contests versus Bates on September 11th.
Two days later, the Monks travel to New Haven, Connecticut for a match against Albertus Magnus in what will likely be a key GNAC contest for both sides. Albertus, the #1 seed in the 2011 GNAC Tournament, was eliminated from conference contention in the tourney's semifinal round and was selected to play in the ECAC New England Tournament, where the Falcons advanced to the championship game.
After away games at Mount Ida and Maine-Farmington the Monks finally return to Standish for a conference match versus Emerson on Saturday, September 22nd, the first of three GNAC home contests. The Monks host Suffolk four days later and Emmanuel comes to town on September 29th.
A road match at Bowdoin on October 2nd kicks off a three-game away stretch and four days later the Monks make the trek to Norwich University for a rematch of the 2011 GNAC Championship game. Another trip, this time to Anna Maria College, follows on October 8th before the SJC side returns home for an October 10th non-conference match versus 2011 ECAC Tournament participant Endicott College.
Saint Joseph's plays at Rivier College on October 13th and comes back to Standish for the final two regular-season games of the year. The Monks take on Maine-Presque Isle in a non-league tilt on Sunday, October 14th and faces Lasell in the 2012 finale at 12:00 PM on Saturday, October 20th.
The GNAC Tournament begins with a quarterfinal round on Saturday, October 27th and continues with the semifinals to be played on Tuesday, October 30th. The conference championship takes place on Saturday, November 3rd and the GNAC Champion advances to the NCAA Tournament, which begins on Thursday, November 8th.
Saint Joseph's went 14-6 overall and 7-3 in GNAC play en route to capturing the GNAC Championship last fall. The Monks featured 17 freshman and sophomores on last year's side and figure to contend for the conference crown again this season.
2012 Soccer Schedule Synopsis:
