Utica College placed four student-athletes on the All-Conference teams and earned two of the three major awards as part of the 2014 Empire 8 Field Hockey Awards. The Pioneers’ forward
Hannah Mackey was named the Player of the Year, while head coach
Sarah Elleman and her staff earned the Coaching Staff of the Year award. St. John Fisher’s
Emily Markarian was tabbed the Rookie of the Year.
Mackey, a senior from Locke, NY, has had a season for the record books. She set a new single-season conference records for goals (34) and points (73). Mackey currently ranks second in the nation with 1.89 goals per game and has registered at least one point in 16-of-18 games played. The three-time E8 all-conference honoree and 2011 E8 Rookie of the Year became the all-time leader for Utica during the year in goals (82), points (192) and game winning goals (23). Mackey is the third Pioneer to win Player of the Year honors, joining past honorees Katie Kutas (2006) and Louise Steele-Norton (2012).
Markarian, a freshman from Orchard Park, NY, played in all 19 games for Fisher making 18 starts. She leads the Cardinals with 19 goals and 40 points which ranks her second and third in the conference, respectively. Markarian registered at least one point in 12 games and set two records for Fisher this season as she scored the first hat-trick in program history and later scored four goals in one game for a new game-high. Fisher is in its fourth year as an NCAA sport and this marks the first E8 top honor for a Cardinal student-athlete.
Elleman and her staff guided the Pioneers to the Empire 8 regular season title with a flawless conference mark of 8-0. This season Utica (16-2) saw a program best 13-game winning streak and are one win shy of tying the program’s single season record for wins (17, that they set last season. The team broke several season records including goals (83) and points (207). Utica has defeated two ranked opponents this season and is currently ranked No. 20 nationally.
One member of each team was named that institution’s representative on the 2014 Field Hockey Sportswoman of the Year Team. Empire 8 emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete’s experience in conjunction with an institution’s educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen.
Empire 8 2014 Field Hockey All-Conference Awards