E8 Athletes of the Week: September 30, 2013
Empire 8 athletes continue to perform at a high level as the season moves into its second month.
Football Offensive Player – Alfred
Tyler Johnson, Freshman, QB – East Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse-Minoa
Inserted at quarterback to start the second half, with the Saxons down 28-0, Tyler Johnson kick started Alfred's rally with a 74-yard TD run with just over five minutes left in the third. He added a 7-yard fourth quarter TD run to draw the Saxons to within a touchdown and on the second play of Alfred's lone possession of overtime tossed a 21-yard scoring pass to give AU a 34-28 win. He finished the game with 291 yards of total offense and three TDs (two rushing, one passing).
Football Defensive Player – St. John Fisher
Mason Judd, Senior, DE – Macedon, NY/Palmyra-Macedon
Mason Judd had five tackles and one sack in Fisher's 33-25 win over SUNY Cortland, Saturday. The senior defensive end also had a key forced fumble that ignited a fourth quarter comeback.
Football Special Teams Player – Ithaca
Josh Oliver, Sophomore - Poughkeepsie, NY/Poughkeepsie
Josh Oliver returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown in Ithaca's 24-20 win at Buffalo State. Oliver added another 33-yard punt return to finish with 96 punt return yards. He also returned three kickoffs for 46 yards. His touchdown was the first Bomber punt return TD since 2011, and the first punt-return touchdown that Buffalo State has allowed since 2004.
Field Hockey Offensive Player – St. John Fisher
Stacie Skidmore, Junior, Forward – Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy
Stacie Skidmore tallied six points as St. John Fisher went 2-0 last week to improve to 5-4 on the season. Against Wells College, she scored the only two goals of the game en route to a 2-0 win. Against Elmira, Skidmore collected two assists in a pivotal 3-0 win against conference foe Elmira College.
Field Hockey Defensive Player – Ithaca
Katie Lass, Freshman, Goalie - Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West
Freshman Katie Lass had a dominate day on Sept 28, turning away 28 shots in a 3-2 loss to Stevens. Lass set a career high in the contest. In the last two games, she has recorded 46 saves.
Men’s Cross Country Runner – Nazareth
Matt Fedrizzi, Senior – Syracuse, NY/Solvay
Matt Fedrizzi was the Golden Flyers' top finisher last Saturday at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational at Roberts Wesleyan. He finished in 17th place among 144 runners with an 8-kilometer time of 26:53.
Women’s Cross Country Runner – Nazareth
Gabrielle LeBihan, Sophomore – Brant Lake, NY/Queensbury
Gabrielle LeBihan has been the Golden Flyers' top runner this season and continued to set the pace at Saturday's Harry F. Anderson Invitational at Roberts Wesleyan. LeBihan finished 17th among 200 runners with a time of 19:06.5 for 5 kilometers. Her time ranks among the top 10 Nazareth times all-time for that distance.
Men’s Golf Athlete – Scranton
Charles Hudacek, Senior – Moosic, PA/Scranton Preparatory
Charles Hudacek opened the week with a 76 to help the Royals defeat King's College and Wilkes University on September 25, at Glenamaura National Golf Club. In Friday's 297-303 victory over Marywood University at the Scranton Municipal Golf Course, shot an even-par 72 to earn medalist honors as the Royals improved to 6-0 in dual-meet competition. His 72 on Friday was his season low.
Women’s Golf Athlete – Ithaca
Amanda Failla, Senior – Unionville, CT/Farmington
Amanda Failla carded a 158 at the Martin/Wallace Invitational to finish in a tie for sixth. Failla shot an 80 on the first day and tied for the third lowest round on the second day with a 78. The Bombers placed second with a team score of 630 on back-to-back rounds of 315. Ithaca finished only behind Methodist, with a score of 611.
Men’s Soccer Offensive Player – Stevens
Stephen Dunbar, Senior, Forward – Johns Creek, GA/Northview
Senior Stephen Dunbar scored two goals in the first 21:16 of match-time to propel Stevens to a 4-0 win at Alfred Saturday afternoon. Dunbar, who is tied for the team lead in goals with five, found net in the 11th minute unassisted and again in the 22nd on the back of an assist from sophomore Carson Pryor. The eighth-ranked Ducks are now 6-1-1 this year.
Men’s Soccer Defensive Player – Utica
Greg Silvestro, Sophomore, Defender - West Sayville, NY/Connetquot
Greg Silvestro had back-to-back goals, including the game-winner, as the Pioneers picked up a 3-0 victory at St. John Fisher on Saturday. The sophomore defender helped Utica make the most of free kick opportunities, scoring one on a free kick, and another on a corner kick header to lift Utica to a 2-0 halftime lead that they would never surrender. Silvestro's two goals have tied him for the team lead.
Women’s Soccer Offensive Player – Stevens
Bridgette Barden, Senior, Midfield – Redondo Beach, CA/Notre Dame Academy
Bridgette Barden tallied six points in a 1-1 week for Stevens. She scored a goal and assisted on two more in a 4-3 loss to Drew and then picked up the game-winner in a 3-0 shutout vs. Utica.
Women’s’ Soccer Defensive –Houghton
Sarah Gabriele, Sophomore, Defender – Mahwah, NJ/Eastern Christian
Sarah Gabriele was a key defensive player in two victories this week for Houghton. On Thursday she helped anchor the defense that allowed six shots en route to the Highlanders posting their fifth shutout of the season. On Saturday, Gabriele scored two goals against Elmira, including the game winner.
Women’s Tennis Player – Elmira
Amy Schmidt, Junior – Batavia, NY/Batavia
Amy Schmidt led Elmira to a 9-0 shutout win over Alfred University. She was a double-winner against the Saxons, picking up wins at first single and doubles. Then, at the USTA/ITA Northeast Regional Championships, Amy won her opening round match in a three set battle. Her win was Elmira's first victory in college history in the main draw of the USTA/ITA Regional Championships.
Women’s Volleyball Player – Houghton
Hattie Burgher, Sophomore, OH – Selkirk, NY/Loudonville Christian
Hattie Burgher registered a double-double in all 3 matches this week. She had 33 kills on the week enough for an average of 3 kills per set, she also dug up 52 balls, 4.7 per set. She contributed 2 aces, 2 blocks and received 45 serves with only 3 errors.
Women’s Volleyball Rookie – Ithaca
Molly Brown, Freshman, Setter – Closter, NJ/Northern Valley Old Tappan
Molly Brown was named to the Lycoming Tip-Off Classic All-Tournament team Saturday. She posted 165 assists, nine kills, seven aces, 52 digs and six blocks (1 solo, 5 assists) during the five-match week for the Bombers. In Ithaca's five-set victory over Misericordia, Brown set for 50 assists and had eight kills, both career-high performances.