Experience and maturity have combined to help the St. Joseph’s women’s lacrosse team to an undefeated start.
Just three years into the program’s existence, the Monks are off to a 5-0-1 start, thanks in part to a senior class that has been with the program from the start.
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“We’ve just been playing really well together as a team,” said senior attack Lauren Hagerman, a former Scarborough standout who scored her 100th goal on Sunday in a 22-14 win at Becker College. “I think we’re playing more as a team than we have in the past.”
Hagerman leads a group of five seniors: midfielder Jaimee Brett of Otisfield, defender Claire Cook of Sangerville, attack Vanessa Brooks of Bath and defender Logen Ryley of Leominster, Mass.
Hagerman scored eight times in Sunday’s game to became the second Monks player to reach 100. Junior Alyssa Marchant reached the milestone on March 18.
“I came into this not knowing what it was going to be like,” said Hagerman about being part of a start-up program. “It’s been kind of fun teaching new players how to play. Just (Sunday) we had a bunch of girls score goals who had never played lacrosse. It’s fun watching us grow.”
The Monks opened the season with wins over UMaine-Farmington and Thomas before knocking off Pine Manor 17-3 to open their Great Northeast Athletic Conference schedule.
A 15-15 tie against Husson came next, followed by an 18-3 win against Mount Ida and the win at Becker.
“This is definitely the start I was hoping for,” said first-year head coach Anna Gordon, a former Deering High standout. “It definitely projects good things for the future if we can continue to play at the level we have been and with the same confidence.”
Gordon took over the program after serving as co-head coach with Rupert Lewis the first two seasons when the team went 11-16.
The Monks qualified for the conference playoffs in both of those seasons, but were knocked out in the first round.
Hagerman said this year the Monks will surprise.
“I think we’re going to shock a lot of the teams we’re going to play,” said Hagerman. “I think they’ve underestimated us.”
ST. JOSEPH’S
Right fielder Danyelle Shufelt was named GNAC softball rookie of the week after hitting .600 with nine runs to help the Monks to an 8-0 conference record.
Through 18 games, she is hitting .415 with 16 runs, three stolen bases and no errors.
The Monks (13-5, 8-0 GNAC) host Norwich in a conference doubleheader starting at 3:30 p.m. Friday.
• Pitcher Pat Moran of Winterport was named GNAC baseball player of the week, and third baseman Mike Pratt was named rookie of the week.
Moran, who also serves as the designated hitter, went 7 for 14 with four runs, four RBI, a double and two home runs in a 3-2 week for the Monks. Moran was the 2009 GNAC player and pitcher of the year.
Pratt, a freshman third baseman, hit .364 with a home run and six RBI last week.
St. Joseph’s (9-7, 3-1 GNAC) will play at Husson on Thursday in a 1 p.m. doubleheader.
BOWDOIN
Cape Elizabeth’s Tricia Thibodeau threw a two-hit shutout in the second game of a doubleheader against Husson on Sunday.
Bowdoin cruised to 9-2 and 8-0 wins to improve to 13-5. Thibodeau, a freshman, struck out five.
• Three squash players were named to the all-New England Small College Athletic Conference team last week: junior Lauren Gesswein of Fairfield, Conn., and senior David Funk of Short Hills, N.J., were named to the first team; and senior Palmer Higgins of Morristown, N.J., was a second-team selection.
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MAINE
Sophomore Bethany Dumas of Augusta was on the 1,600-meter relay team that qualified for the ECAC Division III championships later this spring. The relay team finished in 4 minutes, 10 seconds at the Florida State University Relays.
Dumas also qualified for the New England Division III meet in the pole vault by clearing 3.21 meters and in the 400-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 1:05.13. That time also hit the standard for the New England championships and the ECAC meet.
Sarah Hale of Naples qualified for the New England meet in the 100 with her time of 13.22. Junior Hillary Hall of Waldoboro and freshman Christina Massey of Winslow qualified in the high jump, both clearing 5 feet, 1 inch.
• The baseball team (8-5) will open its Little East Conference schedule at Rhode Island College (8-3) with a noon doubleheader Saturday.
The Huskies have been led by Anthony Pisani, who is batting .511 with 10 RBI, and Colin Henry, who is 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA.
• Freshman utility player Katie Davis of Woburn, Mass., was named LEC softball rookie of the week after hitting .414 during the Huskies’ 10-game trip last week.
• Freshman Christina Massey of Winslow was named LEC rookie field athlete of the week following a standout performance at the Florida State University Relays.
Massey qualified for the New England Division III championships in the high jump and the long jump.
UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND
The softball team is off to a 4-0 start in The Commonwealth Coast Conference following a 10-2, 11-6 sweep of Roger Williams last weekend.
Maegen Johnson of Standish had four hits in the doubleheader and scored five times. The Nor’easters are 9-3 overall.
• The women’s lacrosse team is off to a 3-0 conference start following a 14-8 win over New England College last weekend. Junior Danielle Cate had seven goals in the game.
UNIVERSITY OF MAINE
Pitcher Ashley Kelley of Hermon was the America East softball pitcher of the week after a two-shutout performance last week. She allowed no runs and six hits in 12 innings.
Kelley is 7-3 with a 2.81 ERA and has four complete games in seven starts.
• Center fielder Taylor Lewis was named America East baseball player of the week and freshman Jeffrey Gibbs was named rookie of the week.
Lewis hit .429 as the Black Bears took 3 of 4 against Lehigh, scoring five runs while driving in three and stealing three bases. He leads Maine with a .389 batting average.
Gibbs, who pitched a one-hitter in Maine’s 8-1 win over Lehigh on Sunday, is 2-2 with a 4.79 ERA and a team-high 36 strikeouts in 352/3 innings pitched.
Staff Writer Jenn Menendez can be contacted at 791-6426 or at: jmenendez@pressherald.com
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