Happy National Student-Athlete Day. Congrats on these recent Monks athletic accolades.

Dexter Named GNAC Player of the Week

Lydia Dexter

3/8/22 – The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) weekly accolades have been released and Saint Joseph’s College grad student Lydia Dexter (Oakland, Maine) has been selected as the GNAC Women’s Lacrosse Player of the Week.

Dexter earns the first weekly award of her career after tallying 13 goals and 16 assists for 29 total points in the Monks’ 3-0 start to the 2022 season. She opened the year with four goals and four assists versus Maine Maritime on February 19th, added five goals and seven assists in a 22-2 victory over Thomas College on March 2nd, and capped the three-game set with four goals and five assists in a 19-1 win at Husson on March 5th.

Through March 7th, Dexter leads the GNAC in points and assists and ranks second in the conference in goals.

Peter O’Brien

3/15/22 – The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) weekly honors have been announced and Saint Joseph’s College freshman outfielder Peter O’Brien (Scarborough, Maine) has been selected as the GNAC Baseball Co-Rookie of the Week.

O’Brien was a catalyst for the Monks’ offense last week (4-1) as the freshman center fielder hit .412 (7-17) with nine runs, two doubles, a homer, two RBI and five walks. He posted a .706 slugging percentage and a .545 OBP to account for a stellar 1.251 OPS in five games during the Monks’ spring trip.

In seven games this season, O’Brien is hitting .444 (8-18) with 10 runs, two doubles, a home run, three RBI, two stolen bases, and seven walks and sports an outstanding 1.322 OPS (.600 OBP, .722 SLG%).

O’Brien shares the GNAC weekly award with Elms College freshman pitcher CJ Kuentzel, (Albany, N.Y.), who tossed 7.2 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts (no walks) last week, including a nine-strikeout one-hitter on Thursday in a 9-0 win over Gordon.

Cassandra Stapelfeld

3/24/22 ATLANTA, Ga. – Saint Joseph’s College senior guard Cassandra Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) is one of 30 players to earn honorable mention status on the 2022 NCAA Division III All-American squads, as announced earlier this week by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).

Stapelfeld joins former standout and current assistant coach Kelsi McNamara ’19 as one of two players in the history of the SJC women’s basketball program to have earned WBCA All-America honors. The senior guard has claimed an impressive list of awards this year, as following the completion of the 2021-22 season she garnered First Team All-Conference, First Team All-State, and D3hoops.com Region 1 Second Team accolades.

Stapelfeld takes home the national honor after contributing 17.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 47.2% (170-360) from the field, 40.8% (69-169) from three-point range, and 81.4% (70-86) from the free throw line over 27 contests this winter. She closed out the season ranked second in the GNAC in points (479), three-pointers made (69) and three-point percentage and third in scoring average and field goals made (170).

Stapelfeld is one of just 10 players from the two New England regions to collect MWBCA All-America honors, as she joins Maggie Russell (Tufts), Dani Valdez (Amherst), Christina Antonakakis (MIT), Anna Barry (Eastern Conn.), Megan Bauman (Babson), Bailey Donovan (Husson), Sam Hourihan (Springfield), Katelyn Pickunka (Smith), and Caleigh Ryan (Wesleyan) on the short list.

Stapelfeld and Husson’s Donovan are the only two players hailing from a Maine institution to be honored this year.

Stapelfeld, who played at Endicott College as a freshman and at Simmons University her sophomore season, transferred to Saint Joseph’s prior to the start of the 2019-20 campaign and completed her college career with 1,683 points in 111 games for a 15.2 PPG average. She closed out her senior season ranked third among active NCAA DIII players in free-throw percentage (85.1%, 297-349), eighth in three-pointers made (232), ninth in points and 18th in field goals made (577).

In 61 games at Saint Joseph’s, the two-time All-GNAC honoree netted 888 points for a 14.6 PPG average while shooting 43.8% (312-712) from the field, 38.3% (133-347) from downtown, and 83.4% (131-157) from the FT line. She leaves the program ranked fourth in team history in FT% and three-point percentage, seventh in three-pointers made, and ninth in scoring average.

Ronan Chisholm

3/29/22 – The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) weekly accolades have been announced and a trio of Saint Joseph’s College baseball players have been honored.

Senior third baseman Ronan Chisholm (North Chatham, Mass.) has been named as the GNAC Player of the Week, senior pitcher Matt Poff (Pelham, N.H.) is the March 28th Pitcher of the Week, and freshman hurler Jason Johnson (Thomaston, Conn.) has been selected as the GNAC Rookie of the Week.

The conference weekly honors are a career-first for all three players.

For the Monks, the hat trick of weekly honors marks the first time the baseball program has swept weekly accolades since March 27th, 2017, when Jameson Collins ’17, Grayson Jennings ’19 and Ben Gravel (Rochester, N.H.) claimed GNAC weekly player, pitcher, and rookie awards, respectively.

Chisholm hit .700 (7-10) with five runs, two doubles and three RBI in a 3-2 week for the Monks. The senior third baseman also walked five times and struck out just once in 17 plate appearances and sported an otherworldly .750 OBP for the week.

In 13 games this spring Chisholm is hitting .424 (14-33) with 12 runs, four doubles and six RBI and currently leads the team in batting average, runs, walks (11) and OBP (.565).

Matt Poff

Poff improved to 2-0 on the season after tossing six shutout, three-hit innings while fanning eight and walking none in a 4-0 victory over Plymouth State on Sunday.

In four appearances, including two starts, Poff is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 13 strikeouts – against just three walks – in 16 innings this spring.

Jason Johnson

Johnson scattered five hits and allowed two unearned runs with no walks and four K’s over four innings in a setback at the hands of Endicott College on Tuesday and fanned a pair in a scoreless inning of relief versus Plymouth State on Sunday.

The freshman righthander has emerged as one of the Monks’ top arms this spring with 15 strikeouts in 12 innings over five appearances, including two starts, on the mound. Johnson has allowed just seven hits and four walks and held opposing hitters to a .179 batting average.

Brooklyn Goff

3/29/22 – The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) weekly accolades have been announced and a pair of Saint Joseph’s College track & field athletes have earned awards.

Sophomore Brooklyn Goff (Biddeford, Maine) has been selected as the GNAC Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week while second-year Ryan Farr (Gorham, Maine) has been tabbed as the GNAC Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week.

Ryan Farr

Goff placed fourth in the 400 Hurdles (1:15.12), seventh in High Jump (1.52m), and 10th in the 100 Hurdles 17.91 for a stellar first day at Bridgewater State University on Saturday.

Farr placed 12th in the 200 Meter Dash (23.88) and 17th in the 100 Meter Dash with a 11.82 mark at Bridgewater State.

3/29/22 – The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) weekly honors have been released and Saint Joseph’s College grad student Lydia Dexter (Oakland, Maine) has been tabbed as the GNAC Women’s Lacrosse Player of the Week for the third time this season.

Lydia Dexter

Dexter tallied five goals and six assists with 10 ground balls in huge conference wins over Simmons and Emmanuel last week. The grad student attack netted the OT game-winner versus the Sharks on Tuesday and totaled seven points with three goals and four assists in a runaway win over the Saints on Saturday.

Through eight games this spring, Dexter has netted 30 goals with 39 assists for 69 total points. She currently leads the conference in points and assists and ranks fourth in goals and shots (69).

As of March 25th, Dexter leads the NCAA – all three divisions – in points per game (8.86), ranks second in assists per game (5.00), and fifth in total assists (35).