2012 Women's Soccer Schedule Announced

STANDISH, ME – The 2012 SJC women's soccer schedule has been announced. The Monks will play 18 contests with 12 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tilts and six non-conference games this coming fall.

Featuring a roster with 20 freshman and sophomores, Saint Joseph's went 7-5-5 overall and 6-3-4 in GNAC play under the watch of ninth-year Head Coach Michael Bolanz '00 last season. After a one-year hiatus from the conference tournament, the Monks returned to the postseason as the #8 seed in 2011, but made an early exit with a loss at the hands of top-seeded Lasell College.

The Monks' 2012 slate features 11 home contests and just seven road matches. St. Joe's plays Regis, Thomas, Husson, Simmons, Emerson, Anna Maria, Emmanuel, Albertus Magnus, Mount Ida, Maine-Presque Isle, and Lasell at Westerlea Way Field this fall. The SJC side travels to Green Mountain, Saint Joseph (Conn.), Norwich, Rivier, Suffolk, Johnson & Wales, and University of Southern Maine this coming season. Overall, St. Joe's owns a collective 130-64-16 (.670) record against the 2012 opponents, a group that combined to post a 143-169-19 (.458) mark last fall.

The docket includes one first-time opponent and a pair of teams the Monks have not faced in recent years. The season begins with a home game versus Regis College, a side the Royal Blue has not played in the 24-year history of the program, on Sunday, September 2nd at 1:00 PM. The team goes on to play at Green Mountain, a side St. Joe's has not faced since 2006, on September 9th and hosts Maine-Presque Isle on October 14th. The Monks and Owls have not met on the pitch since the 2007 campaign.

Following the Regis match, Saint Joseph's hosts Thomas on September 6th and, after the trek to Green Mountain, returns home for a non-conference tilt against Husson on September 12th. Westerlea Way Field will house the Monks' 2012 GNAC-opener, a contest versus Simmons on September 15th, the first of nine consecutive conference contests for the Royal Blue.

St. Joe's travels to Saint Joseph (Conn.) on September 14th and returns to Standish to play four GNAC games in a matter of 12 days, beginning with a match versus Emerson on September 22nd. Anna Maria comes to town three days later and the Monks host the Saints of Emmanuel College on September 29th. The four-game GNAC home stretch concludes on October 3rd when the Royal Blue plays host to Albertus Magnus College.

The October portion of the SJC docket resumes with a trip to Norwich three days later and continues when Mount Ida comes to town on October 8th. After a GNAC match at Rivier on October 13th, the Monks return to Westerlea Way Field the following day for a non-league game against Maine-Presque Isle. Up next is a conference contest at Suffolk University on October 17th.

One of the most important games of the season will take place on Saturday, October 20th when Saint Joseph's hosts 2011 GNAC Champion Lasell College in what will be the Monks' 2012 home finale. St. Joe's stunned Lasell, 1-0, during the regular season last fall, but the Lasers had the last laugh when they defeated the Monks by a 5-1 margin in a GNAC Tournament quarterfinal tilt in Newton, Massachusetts on October 29th. The loss signaled the end of the 2011 campaign for the Monks and the Lasers went on to capture the GNAC title.

Three days after the key conference contest versus Lasell, the Monks hit the road to take on Johnson & Wales in the side's 2012 GNAC finale. Saint Joseph's concludes the regular season on October 25th when the team faces USM in a non-conference game slated to start at 3:00 PM.