E8 Athletes of the Week: Oct. 28, 2013
The fall tournaments are quickly approaching, and student-athletes are performing at a top level as they prepare for the post-season. Those earning weekly honors...
Football Offensive Player - Ithaca
Tom Dempsey, Junior, QB – Andover, MA/Andover
Tom Dempsey had career-best totals in yards (220), completions (20) and completion percentage (.741) in Ithaca's win over St. John Fisher. He threw a 1-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive of the second half that gave Ithaca the lead for good. Dempsey connected with nine different receivers in the game, and completed 14 of 16 passes in the first half.
Football Defensive Player – Salisbury
Matt Banta, Senior, LB – Columbia, MD/Marriots Ridge
Matt Banta led a Salisbury defense which recorded the 21st shutout in program history ... Banta recorded a team-high nine tackles against Hartwick, five of which were solo stops ... Banta had a sack and a half, and also had 2.5 tackles for loss in the game and recovered a fumble ... The Salisbury defense game up just 191 total yards, the lowest allowed this year and limited the Hawks to 17 rushing yards.
Football Special Teams Player - Ithaca
Max Rottenecker, Sophomore, Kicker – Wilkes-Barre, PA/Meyers
Garrett Nicholson, Junior, Kicker – State College, PA/State College Area
Max Rottenecker and Garrett Nicholson each made two field goals in Ithaca's 25-22 win over St. John Fisher, successfully converting all four Bomber field goal attempts in the game. They are the only teammates in Division III football to each have multiple field goals in the same game this season. Rottenecker connected from 35 yards in the first quarter and 41 yards in the fourth quarter. Nicholson made a 27-yarder on the final play of the first half and added a 24-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
Field Hockey Offensive Player – Houghton
Maesa Phongsamouth, Senior, MF – Leominster, MA/Leominster
Maesa Phongsamouth scored seven goals and added three assists in the 14-1 win over Morrisville last Tuesday. Phongsamouth’s seven-goal output broke the school record for goals scored in a game and her 17 points also set a new program game high.
Field Hockey Defensive Player – Utica
Kells Casey, Sophomore, Goalie – Sandwich, MA/Kimball Union Academy
Sophomore goalie Kells Casey went 2-0 last week as the Pioneers improved to 13-3 on the year. She posted her sixth shut out of the season and stopped four shots in the Pioneers 1-0 victory over conference foe Washington & Jefferson Saturday. She also stopped six shots as the Pioneers rallied from a 1-0 deficit to defeat Hamilton College 2-1 on Wednesday afternoon.
Men’s Cross Country Runner – Ithaca
Sean Phillips, Freshman – East Aurora, NY/East Aurora
Rookie Sean Phillips led the Bombers to a fourth-place finish out of 12 teams Saturday at the NYSCTC Championship at the Hamilton College Golf Course. He again paced the Bombers on the eight-kilometer course finishing 10th out of 127 runners with a 27:02.00 finish. He was the top Empire 8 finisher and earned second-team all-state honors. Ithaca, who tallied 89 points, has placed in the top five each of the last six years.
Women’s Cross Country Runner – Ithaca
Jaime Lisack, Sophomore – Goshen, NY/Goshen
Sophomore Jaime Lisack led the Bombers to their ninth straight runner-up finish at the NYSCTC Championship Saturday at the Hamilton College Golf Course. Lisack clocked a season-best 6,000-meter time of 23:12.80 to place eighth out of 129 runners. She was the top Empire 8 finisher and earned second-team all-state honors for her performance. Ithaca, who finished second out of 11 teams with just 64 points, has placed in the top three for 16 straight years. The Bombers finished second to 18th-ranked St. Lawrence who won the meet with 34 points.
Men’s Soccer Offensive Player – Elmira
Ryan Limero, Senior, M – Belchertown, MA/Dublin School
Ryan Limero scored two goals this past week, his first two scores of the 2013 season. His second goal of the week came as the game-winner against the No. 4 regionally ranked Highlanders of Houghton College. The win over Houghton marks the Highlanders first loss to an Empire 8 team this season.
Men’s Soccer Defensive Player – Stevens
Leonardo Casas, Senior, Defender – Kearny, NJ/St. Bennedict’s Prep
Senior back Leonardo Casas helped Stevens to a 2-0 week as the Ducks improved to 13-1-1 overall and clinched the Empire 8 regular-season title with a 2-0 win over St. John Fisher. Casas assisted the first Stevens goal in a win over Rutgers-Newark, hitting Carson Pryor with a long pass that the sophomore put home for a tally. He also helped Stevens to its ninth shutout of the year in the win over Fisher as the Ducks have allowed just six goals against all season and one last week.
Women’s Soccer Offensive Player – Hartwick
Cristina Sicari, Senior, F – St. James, NY/Smithtown East
Cristina Sicari helped the Hawks to a pair of victories last week as she produced two goals. She scored the only goal in Hartwick's 1-0 win over RPI on Tuesday. She also scored the game-winning goal against St. John Fisher in a 2-1 victory, which was the first win over the Cardinals since 2003.
Women’s’ Soccer Defensive –Nazareth
Bethany Novak, Senior, Goalie – Derby, NY/Nichols School
Bethany Novak helped Nazareth secure the No. 2 seed in the upcoming E8 Championship tournament following a pair conference wins last week. She had five saves in Wednesday's 3-0 win over St. John Fisher for her third shutout of the season. She added seven saves, while yielding one goal, in Saturday's 3-1 win at Utica.
Women’s Volleyball Player – Nazareth
Maria Allocco, Junior, MB – Ballston Lake, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake
Maria Allocco led Nazareth to three Empire 8 Conference wins over the weekend as she totaled 28 kills (2.80 per set) in 42 attempts for a .524 hitting percentage. She also had three service aces and 10 blocks as Nazareth improved to 6-1 in E8 matches and 24-6 overall. She hit .500 (12-2-20) in a four-set win over Elmira Friday with three aces. She hit .778 (7-0-9) in a three-set sweep of Alfred and .385 (9-4-13) in three sets against St. John Fisher.
Women’s Volleyball Rookie – Stevens
Christina Sciarra, Freshman, OPP – Montclair, NJ/Immaculate Heart Academy
Christina Sciarra helped Stevens improve to 24-5 on the season with a 3-0 week. She totaled 22 kills and hit over .318 twice. Against Baruch, Sciarra swung at a .364 clip with nine kills on 10/23. She then posted six kills versus Penn State-Altoona and then hit .318 with seven kills at Elizabethtown.
Men’s Swimming & Diving Athlete – Nazareth
Dan Burke, Sophomore – Baldwinsville, NY/ CW Baker
Dan Burke participated in four winning events Saturday as Nazareth defeated St. Lawrence in a dual meet, 174-105. Burke won the 100- and 200-meter backstrokes with times of 1:01.12 and 2:14.35 respectively. He also won the 200-meter IM (2:21.39) and was part of the winning 200-meter medley relay (1:54.32).
Women’s Swimming & Diving Athlete – Stevens
Brittany Geyer, Junior – Brunswick, OH/Walsh Jesuit
Brittany Geyer won two events this past weekend in a loss to Division I Saint Peter's. Geyer won the 200-IM with a 2:13.96 and the 100-breaststroke with a 1:08.77. The junior also helped the 200-medley relay team to a second-place finish, clocking a 1:52.90.