BIDDEFORD — It’s been a good start to the decade for the University of New England golf team. But if you listen to some of the talk around campus in Biddeford Pool, this season might be one for the ages.

“My hope is ”“ in terms of since I’ve been here ”“ on paper, so to speak, this is the strongest team that I’ve had,” said head coach Kasey Keenen. “Others close to the university and the department believe that this is probably the strongest team that we’ve ever had in the entire program.”

Keenen said that’s not just a wild prediction and the expectations do not put too much pressure on his team.

The Nor’easters have history on their side to back up those claims; as in, program history. The current roster boasts three of the top four players in program history ”“ at least since 1997, which is as far back as the records go ”“ in terms of scoring average, and five of the top nine.

The program leader in that category is junior Jared Melman. The San Jose, Calif. native played in only a few matches as a freshman, but Keenan said he stepped his game up last year, and was the Nor’easters’ leading scorer.

Second and fourth in school history, respectively, are seniors Tyler Moody and Andy Emery. Moody is a graduate student studying pharmacy at UNE’s Portland campus, and scheduling conflicts forced him to miss a couple of matches last year. Emery has only missed about three matches in three years, according to Keenan, and is coming off a banner year last season. Emery was named first-team NEIGA after finishing in the top five of Division-III players at the New England Intercollegiate Championship.

Sophomore Paul Butkevich and senior Mat Brown round out the rest of UNE’s record-making roster. Butkevich played in every match as a freshman, and Keenan said he could be primed for an even bigger year this season.

“This year I look for Paul to potentially be our top scorer,” he said.

The Nor’easters didn’t graduate anybody, and the three seniors will now be two-year captains. Brown and Emery helped UNE win the Maine Intercollegiate Championship as freshmen, and Keenan would like to see them win it again as outgoing seniors.

Coming into help Brown and Emery are two highly-touted freshmen in Sam Kinasewich and Ryan Mahoney, who Keenan said will get a chance to play early on.

Keenan said his goal is for the team to win both the Maine Intercollegiate Championship, as well as the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship next spring ”“ an event the Nor’easters have never won.

Keenan pointed to perennial-power Endicott as a top contender once again ”“ he called the Gulls “probably the team to beat if I had to pick one.” He also said his Nor’easters should be in the mix, as well as Western New England and Nichols.

Giving UNE extra motivation to win the conference title is that for the first time in conference history the league champion will get an automatic berth to the Division-III national championship tournament, thanks to the conference adding two more teams.

“That would be a huge step for the program,” Keenan said of possibly making it to nationals. “It would not only be great for our kids who are here, but another step for the program in terms of recruiting and in terms of getting our name and our program’s name out there.”

There’s some high expectations for the Nor’easters this season, but they aren’t about to shy away from them.

“The kids hear that talk, and they kind of know where the program’s come,” said Keenan. “Hopefully we can take that next step and win that conference championship.”

— Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.