Five E8 Athletes Recognized by ECAC
Five Empire 8 Athletic Conference (E8) Athletes of the Week have been recognized by the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) as Division III Upstate Athletes of the Week for their performance during the week of Sept 2-8, 2013.
Women's Cross Country Upstate
Ashton Villeneuve – Utica College
Utica, Holland Patent, NY
Ashton Villenueve repeats as the E8 Runner of the Week after shattering the Utica College record for a 5,000 meter cross country race while leading her team to victory at Cobleskill's Steven A. Warde Invitational. The sophomore opened up a gap of 1:09 over her nearest competitor as she cruised to a convincing first place finish in a time of 17:55 (5:46 pace). Villenueve's time bested the previous 5k school record of 18:29 by 34 seconds.
Football Northwest
Offensive Player of the Week
Casey Kacz – Buffalo State
Senior, QB – Anherst, NY
Kacz accounted for 344 yards of total offense in Buffalo State’s 41-28 victory over defending NJAC Champion and 2012 NCAA tournament representative Cortland State. Kacz rushed for 118 yards on 17 attempts and three scores (1, 5, and 13 yds) and completed 19-of-29 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns (3 and 37 yds). It marked the second straight and 11th win overall in program history over Cortland in 30 games.
Defensive Player of the Week
RJ Roth -- Hartwick
Senior, Defensive End – Cornwall, NY
Roth was part of a staunch defensive effort in Hartwick's 33-7 opening day victory over Husson. Making his first start at defensive end after switching from linebacker and after missing the 2012 season with an injury, Roth made 12 tackles (9 solo), four tackles for losses, and one sack. His efforts limited the Husson offense to just 147 yards on the day.
Special Teams Player of the Week
Kyle Hamby – Salisbury University
Junior, Punter, Laurel, Md.
Hamby was instrumental for Salisbury in a low-scoring, field-position game. The junior punter averaged 45.6 yards on six punting opportunities, sending three inside the 20-yard line, while also putting up a 70-yard boot in the first half against Christopher Newport.
Women's Soccer Upstate
Defensive Player of the Week
Caitlyn Labonte – Stevens IT
Senior, Defense, Northbridge, Mass.
Labonte was named the Engineering Cup Most Outstanding Defensive Player as Stevens finished 1-1 in the tournament. She anchored the Stevens backline that allowed just 10 shots in two games this weekend. The Ducks suffered a tough 2-1 overtime loss to Vassar on Saturday before Labonte locked down numerous runs by NYU and diverted any possibility of one-on-one chances throughout the contest in a 2-0 win over the Violets on Sunday.