STANDISH, Maine – The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Field Hockey postseason honors have been released and three-time GNAC Champion Saint Joseph's College is well represented.
Eight members of the SJC field hockey program have earned accolades, as Head Coach Rupert Lewis has been named as the GNAC Coach of the Year, junior forward Libby Pomerleau (Limerick, Maine) has collected GNAC Offensive Player of the Year honors, senior Megan Baker (Gorham, Maine) is the 2018 GNAC Goalkeeper of the Year, and freshman Emma Rutledge (Alfred, Maine) is the 2018 GNAC Rookie of the Year.
Pomerleau and Baker are joined on the First Team by seniors Arianna Kahler (Lisbon Falls, Maine) and Kayla Veilleux (Sabattus, Maine) while Rutledge, senior Kayla Kelly (York, Maine) and junior Kylee Veilleux (Sabattus, Maine) have garnered Second Team All-Conference accolades.
As the top seed in the GNAC Tournament, Saint Josephs' toppled #2 Lasell College by a 4-0 score in the conference championship on Sunday and, with the victory, claim the GNAC's automatic NCAA Tournament qualifier. In the first round of the national tournament, the Monks will play at Endicott College on Wednesday at 6:00 PM.
Lewis garners GNAC Coach of the Year honors for the second time in the last three years after leading the Monks to the best season in program history. Heading into the NCAA Tournament, Saint Joseph's is 19-1, including a 7-0 mark in conference play, and has outscored opponents by a collective 94-11 margin. The 2018 team has set new program records for wins, fewest losses, longest winning streak (12), goals (94), assists (75), points (263), shots (477), and shutouts (13).
The winningest coach in program history, Lewis is 175-88 (.665) over 14 seasons.
Pomerleau claims Offensive Player of the Year honors for the second-consecutive season after scoring 20 goals – including five game-winners - with six assists for 46 total points in 20 games. She is second in the GNAC in goals and fourth in points and, with two tallies in the GNAC Championship, became the Monks' all-time goals leader with 58 strikes in just 62 career games.
Baker earns GNAC Goalkeeper of the Year and First Team All-GNAC honors for the second time in the last three years after posting a 0.45 goals-against average and an .879 save percentage with 58 saves and eight goals allowed in 1,235 minutes. The four-year starter currently ranks second in NCAA DIII Field Hockey in save percentage and fourth in goals-against average and – among all active NCAA DIII keepers – ranks second in career shutouts percentage (.393), fourth in goals-against average (0.85) and victories (57), and seventh in minutes (5,031).
Baker has also established new program records in victories and shutouts (30) and is on pace to break the SJC career goals-against average mark.
Rutledge becomes the second player in program history to garner Conference Rookie of the Year accolades after tallying 17 goals and 15 assists for 49 total points in 20 games this fall. She currently ranks third in the GNAC in goals, assists, and points and has tallied the highest totals in all three statistical categories by any freshman in program history.
Kahler earns All-Conference honors for the third time after establishing career-highs in goals (7), assists (16), and points (30) during her senior season. The two-year team captain broke the Monks' single-season assists record with a pair of helpers in the team's GNAC Championship victory over Lasell College on Sunday. The four-year starter has scored nine goals with 20 assists for 38 total points in 80 career games.
Kayla Veilleux collects First Team All-Conference honors for the second-consecutive season after setting career-highs in goals (9), assists (7), and points (25) during her senior campaign. In three collegiate seasons she has played in 58 games with 56 starts and nine defensive saves.
Kayla Kelly takes Second Team accolades for the second year in a row after scoring eight goals with six assists for 22 total points this fall. In 81 career games, Kelly has scored 20 goals with 13 assists for 53 total points.
Kylee Veilleux earns her first All-Conference nod after helping lock down the midfield for the Monks this fall. She has played and started in all 20 games with eight shots, including three on goal, this season.
GNAC RELEASE:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WINTHROP, Mass. – In addition to placing four on the 2018 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Field Hockey All-Conference First Team, Saint Joseph's College of Maine has taken home four major yearend awards, as announced by the league office on Tuesday.
Monks junior forward Libby Pomerleau was crowned the 2018 GNAC Offensive Player of the Year, as voted upon by the league's eight head coaches, while senior Megan Baker was selected as the GNAC Goalkeeper of the Year, freshman forward Emma Rutledge was named the GNAC Rookie of the Year, and head coach Rupert Lewis took home GNAC Coach of the Year honors.
The accolades come after SJC secured its third GNAC Championship in as many years with a convincing 4-0 victory over Lasell College this past Sunday. The Monks will travel to Endicott on Wednesday evening at 6:00 PM in an NCAA Division III Tournament First-Round matchup.
Pomerleau, the 2018 GNAC Tournament MVP, enters Wednesday with 20 goals and six assists for 46 points on the season, while Baker led all GNAC goalkeepers with a .879 save percentage and 0.45 goals-against average. Rutledge, who was a 2018 All-GNAC Second Team honoree in addition to her Rookie of the Year award, currently has 49 points on 17 goals and 15 assists.
It marks the second GNAC Coach of the Year award for Lewis, who also received the honor back in 2016.
Simmons University senior Meghan Fontaine was named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year as the Sharks allowed just 14 goals in their seven GNAC contests.
Lasell placed four on the All-GNAC First Team, headlined by senior forward Cailin Flannery and junior forward Sam Taylor, who rank first and second, respectively, among GNAC leaders in points with 51 and 50. Flannery led the way with 21 goals while Taylor was tied for first with 16 assists. Senior midfielder Julia Franzik and junior back Mindy Esposito also garnered First Team accolades for the Lasers.
Colby-Sawyer College senior forward Jordan Teixeira, who had 12 goals and five assists for the 14-5 Chargers, and Colby-Sawyer senior midfielder Colleen Burke rounded out the First Team.
For the complete All-Conference and All-Sportsmanship selections, please see below.
First Team
F – Jordan Teixeira, Colby-Sawyer (Sr., Exeter, N.H.)
F – Cailin Flannery, Lasell (Sr., Medford, N.J.)
F – Sam Taylor, Lasell (Jr., Hanover, Mass.)
F – Libby Pomerleau, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Jr., Limerick, Maine)
M – Colleen Burke, Colby-Sawyer (Sr., Orange, Mass.)
M – Julia Franzik, Lasell (Sr., Wallingford, Conn.)
M – Arianna Kahler, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Sr., Lisbon Falls, Maine)
B – Mindy Esposito, Lasell (Jr., Sunderland, Mass.)
B – Kayla Veilleux, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Sr., Sabattus, Maine)
B – Meghan Fontaine, Simmons (Sr., Westminster, Mass.)
GK – Megan Baker, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Sr., Gorham, Maine)
Second Team
F – Aineen Callahan, Regis (Mass.) (Sr., Diamond Point, N.Y.)
F – Kayla Kelly, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Sr., York, Maine)
F – Emma Rutledge, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Fr., Alfred, Maine)
F – Emily Plummer, Simmons (Fr., San Diego, Calif.)
M – Megan Horrigan, Lasell (So., Wakefield, Mass.)
M – Maggie Fuzak, Simmons (So., Buffalo, N.Y.)
M – Ana Giarrusso, Simmons (Sr., Hingham, Mass.)
B – Kailyn Lapham, Colby-Sawyer (Jr., Medway, Mass.)
B – Kylee Veilleux, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Jr., Sabattus, Maine)
B – Abby Anderson, Simmons (So., South Yarmouth, Mass.)
GK – Sofia Rodriguez, Lasell (Fr., Peabody, Mass.)
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Libby Pomerleau, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Meghan Fontaine, Simmons
GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR – Megan Baker, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Emma Rutledge, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
COACH OF THE YEAR – Rupert Lewis, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
INSTITUTIONAL SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD – Rivier University
ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
Sarah Coley, Anna Maria (Sr., Worcester, Mass.)
Sierra Schuster, Colby-Sawyer (Sr., Hopkinton, N.H.)
Carlotta Petracci, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Sr., Brigantine, N.J.)
Marianna Bean, Lasell (Sr., Westbrook, Conn.)
Alycia LeConche, Regis (Mass.) (Sr., Simsbury, Conn.)
Nicole Mansfield, Rivier (So., Acton, Mass.)
Samantha Silva, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Sr., Laconia, N.H.)
Ana Giarrusso, Simmons (Sr., Hingham, Mass.)
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
