The Monks take a 14-game winning streak into the GNAC playoffs
CLICK HERE to read original article, written by Portland Press Herald Staff Writer Mike Lowe
The Saint Joseph's College women's lacrosse team will take a 14-game winning streak into the Great Northeast Athletic Conference playoffs that begin Wednesday.
"It's pretty special," said Coach Rupert Lewis. "I'm really enjoying it, considering nobody expected it."
The Monks (14-1) are far better than anyone expected. They lost eight seniors and the head coach from a team that went 12-8 last year. There wasn't much recruiting done to replenish the roster.
Then Lewis was approached about returning to the program he started as a club team and led into NCAA Division III varsity status in 2008. He left after the 2009 season to concentrate on his other coaching love, Saint Joseph's field hockey.
"I consider this one of my babies," he said. "We needed to rebuild. And I guess I got lucky, the first recruit I brought in was outstanding."
That was freshman attack Elyse Caiazzo of Scarborough (Cheverus), who had started the year at Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts, but wanted to return closer to home.
Recruited by Lewis to play field hockey, Caiazzo transferred to Saint Joseph's in January.
"She has been exceptional," said Lewis. "I cannot wait until the fall."
Caiazzo leads the Monks with 56 goals and 17 assists. This week she was named GNAC rookie of the week for the sixth time.
"She is awesome," said junior attack Mary Leasure of South Portland (McAuley). "She's humble, has great stick skills."
Leasure is second on the team in scoring with 26 goals and 37 assists. Junior midfielder Kat Gadbois of Scarborough is next with 33 goals and 18 assists, and a team-high 78 ground balls.
That's the thing about this team, said Lewis: It is well balanced and versatile. Early in the year, while he was still learning the players, Lewis had them playing multiple positions in practice and games. He watched them learn to cut, move, pass and make quick decisions. "That's when their lacrosse IQ really started to go up," he said.
Now when Leasure calls out one of the four offensive plays the team runs, everyone knows what everyone else is doing.
"I think we have great chemistry and confidence in each other," said Caiazzo. "When one person is stopped, another comes up and makes the play. Our defense works so well together. We play as a team, we play as a family, not a one-man show. That's where our success is."
Leasure said Lewis has made an impact.
"One big difference is that we're a lot more laid back," she said. "And he always lets us play, lets us figure it out on the field as a team rather than calling a timeout to talk to us. He still talks from the sideline,but he's not stopping play to tell us what to do.
"He lets us figure it out and I think that's making us able to adjust better on the field."
Saint Joseph's has lost only its season opener, 15-12 to the University of New England. Now the Monks know the pressure is on them to keep performing at a high level. They play No. 8 Rivier College in the GNAC quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Morse High in Bath.
"The pressure is to see how far we can take it," said Caiazzo.
"There's always pressure," said Leasure. "I've been telling the girls that we have to act like there's nothing to lose, no record to hold onto. Every team is 0-0 right now and we have to know that everyone is out to get us."
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
