Shortly after winning the Atlantic 10 championship Sunday, Saint Joseph’s loaded up the bus and traveled back to Philadelphia.
On board, graduate attacker Rilea Fusco turned to coach Alex Kahoe, telling her that she had gotten an alert. Her phone screen lit up with a reminder that read “A-10 champions.”
Kahoe had forgotten about the alert, but as soon as Fusco showed her, the memory returned. During the first meeting of the 2021-22 season, she had told her team to program a notification for the afternoon of May 1.
“I said, ‘I want you to put in your phone ‘A-10 champions’ because that’s what we’re going to be,” Kahoe said. “This team has bought in and focused on this goal [since the beginning].”
Months later, the alert held true. The Hawks, seeded third in the A-10 tournament, accomplished the seemingly improbable. Down went No. 2 Richmond, which defeated Saint Joseph’s by 14 goals just a month ago. Then fell No. 1 UMass, which took down the Hawks by a six-goal margin when the programs met barely two weeks prior.
For Saint Joseph’s, the victories were tied to two words: “Staying disciplined.” It’s been a defining focus for the team throughout the season, Kahoe said. The mindset emphasizes focusing on the game plan, looking out for the little things and connecting with each other on and off the field.
In the ups and downs of the weekend’s matchups, Kahoe said this discipline anchored the Hawks.
Against Richmond, Saint Joseph’s was up by just one goal for the final nine minutes of the game. Graduate defender Taylor Newman-Farr said staying disciplined and “focusing on the controllables” were keys to dominating that stretch.
Up by just one goal at halftime against UMass, the Hawks controlled the second half and outscored the Minutewomen 8-3. Kahoe found discipline key to its second-half dominance, trying to tackle the little things and focusing on each opportunity presented.