STANDISH — Of all the honors the St. Joseph’s College field hockey program has received while he has been the head coach, Rupert Lewis is most proud of this: In eight of his nine seasons, the team has received the highest academic honor possible from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association.

The certificates will always be high on his shelf.

“Those certificates mean more to me than a championship or a plaque,” he said. “Those kids are actually doing the work and we’re getting them through school on time.”

Having said that, it would be nice to get a championship too. And this year, the Monks are aiming high.

After years or competing in the North Atlantic Conference and coming close – losing, for instance, to Castleton State in last year’s title game – St. Joe’s is looking for its first NCAA Division III tournament appearance.

This year, the Monks are competing in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference – just like all the other St. Joe’s teams. The league finally had enough schools sponsoring field hockey teams this year (seven) to form a league and qualify for an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. The Monks were picked as preseason favorites to win the championship.

“I don’t judge the success of my program on the wins and the losses,” said Lewis. “It’s the growth of the players. That’s one of the things I consistently preach when I’m coaching. As long as the players get better every year, I am having success. Ideally, you want to win that big game. But getting there is half the battle and I think we have the ability to do that this year.”

The Monks lost only two players from last year’s squad, which posted the highest winning percentage (.709) in program history. Expectations are high among the players.

“Definitely there’s more excitement,” said Effie Drew, a senior forward from Portland who led the Monks with 10 goals and 23 points last year. “I think it probably lights a fire under us.

“There’s no pressure because it’s a new conference and there’s not any expectations just yet. But at the same time, being picked the favorite and everything that goes along with it … we’re excited.”

St. Joe’s won its only game of the season thus far, 2-1 over Eastern Connecticut. Drew and Theresa Hendrix, a grad student from Scarborough (Cheverus), scored the goals.

Lewis likes much about this team, especially the leadership provided by upperclassmen Drew, Hendrix, defender Kaylee Heath (Pittston/Gardiner) and Emily Jordan (Whitefield/Erskine Academy).

“The first thing I sell is working as a team, we are strong as our weakest link,” he said. “Our strength is that we all work together. There is no standout individual that is going to get the glory. It’s a real team. And being such a young team, they are very impressionable, so we can get things done easily.

“The other piece to that is that I have some really good senior players who will help and groom the younger players. I’m very fortunate to have that group this year.”

Sophomore goalie Emma Astbury, of Bridgewater, Vermont, is coming off a season in which she ranked eighth in the nation in goals-against average (0.98). Sophomore midfielder Kelsey Dumond of Lewiston had eight goals and an assist in her first collegiate season. Drew senses a renewed optimism with the Monks.

“Confidence definitely has a lot to do with it, individually and as a team,” said Drew, who transferred to St. Joe’s as a junior from St. Mary’s in Halifax, Nova Scotia. “Last year we came in under the radar and sailed into the conference final. We’re playing with more confidence this year.

“Individually, just getting more experience you become naturally more confident. And as a whole we just know we have a lot of potential.”

BOWDOIN COLLEGE

Sophomore Katie Doherty of Menlo Park, California, was named the New England Small College Athletic Conference women’s volleyball Player of the Week. Doherty helped the Polar Bears open with four wins at the Endicott Invitational. She averaged 2.47 kills and 4.20 digs per set and had 10 service aces in the four matches.

ST. JOSEPH’S COLLEGE

Freshman forward Austin Bell, of Gorham, has been chosen as the Great Northeast Athletic Conference men’s soccer Rookie of the Week. He scored the first two goals of his collegiate career in a 5-0 win over the University of Maine-Presque Isle.

• Sophomore Michael Caron of Gorham was named GNAC co-Player of the Week in golf. Caron shot 79-72 to finish seventh in the Bowdoin College Invitational last weekend.

• Junior Abbie McPhee, of Epping, New Hampshire, was named the GNAC women’s volleyball Defensive Player of the Week. McPhee had 70 total digs in four matches in the St. Joseph’s College Autumn Invitational, averaging 5.38 digs over 13 sets.

UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND

The men’s cross country team was third in the 2014 Shacklette Invitational at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire. The Nor’easters scored 83 points and were the top Division III finisher, trailing D-II schools Merrimack College and Stonehill College. Junior C.J. Vallie was the top finished for UNE, in seventh overall. He finished the 8-kilometer course in 27:45.

The women’s cross country team also finished third at the Shacklette Invitational, again running behind D-II schools Stonehill and Assumption College. Three UNE runners finished in the top 10, led by sophomore Tiana Thomas, who was third in 19:07.

The Nor’easters will hold the annual UNE Invitational at Rotary Park in Biddeford Saturday. The women’s race starts at 10:45 a.m., the men’s race at 11:30 a.m.

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MAINE

Freshman volleyball player Jessica Williamson, of Goffstown, New Hampshire, was named the ECAC New England Division III Rookie of the Week in her first week as a collegian. In two matches, she had 32 kills, 15 digs, a solo block and one block assist while compiling a .304 hitting percentage. Williamson has also been named the Little East Conference Rookie of the Week for two consecutive weeks, helping the Huskies to a 7-0 start, their best ever.

• Junior Sarah Hill of Topsham (Mt. Ararat) was named the Little East Conference women’s tennis Player of the Week. Hill won her No. 1 singles match 6-0, 6-0 and then teamed with junior Molly Gallagher of South Portland (Deering) to win the No.1 doubles match, 8-0.

• Junior Hannah Damron of Windham was chosen as the LEC women’s cross country Runner of the Week. Damron finished sixth overall, the first D-III runner, in the Fordham Fiasco/Ed Joyce Memorial at Van Cortlandt Park in New York City. Her time on the 5,000-meter course was 19:32.86.

• Senior Will Lundquist of Augusta (Cony) has been named the LEC men’s cross country Runner of the Week. Lundquist was third overall in the Harrier Classic last weekend as the Huskies won the race for the second consecutive year. He completed the 8,000-meter course in 29:56.43.

Copy the Story Link