STANDISH, ME - The Saint Joseph's College Women's Lacrosse program heads into its third year as an NCAA varsity sport with a new, but familiar, face leading the way.
Head Coach Anna Gordon, who served as the co-head coach of the Monks for the last two seasons, took sole possession of the team's leadership post prior to the 2009-10 academic year. Coach Gordon expects the 2010 team to make strides towards the upper echelon of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference, as the Monks return 14 players from a team that went 6-8 last spring and advanced to the GNAC Tournament for the second time in as many seasons as a conference member.
Headlining the returners are 2009 statistical leaders, and All-GNAC First Team honorees, Lauren Hagerman '10 (Scarborough, ME) and Alyssa Marchant '11 (Wakefield, MA). Hagerman paced the 2009 squad with 27 assists, 69 points and 62 draw controls, while Marchant produced a team-high 46 goals and scored 51 points with 33 draw controls. Both players collected 30 ground balls to tie for the team-lead.
Other key returners include attackers Lizzie Farley '11 (Scarborough, ME) and Vanessa Brooks '10 (Bath, ME) and midfielders Jaimee Brett '10 (Otisfield, ME), Amelia Santos '12 (Beverly, MA) and Megan Cutter '12 (Westbrook, ME).
Defenders Claire Cook '10 (Sangerville, ME), Logen Ryley '10 (Leominster, MA), Jillian Higgins '12 (Saco, ME) and Allyson Woods '12 (Portland, ME/McAuley) also return, as does goalkeeper Taylor Allison '12 (Pawtucket, RI), who started all 14 games as a freshman and made 160 saves between the pipes.
A promising collection of newcomers is also expected to contribute immediately for the 2010 club. A pair of two-sport athletes, defender Casey Monaghan (Portland, ME) and midfielder Emily Wight (Westbrook, ME), who both played important roles for the women's soccer team in the fall, highlight the 2013 graduating class.
Saint Joseph's opens the season with a non-conference game against University of Maine-Farmington on Tuesday, March 16th at 4:30 PM at Deering Memorial Stadium in Portland. The Monks' first conference contest takes place at Deering on Saturday, March 20th against Pine Manor at 3:30 PM.
