St. John Fisher College placed five student-athletes on the All-Conference teams and earned all three major awards as part of the 2016 Empire 8 Field Hockey Awards. The Cardinal’s forward Emily Markarian was named Player of the Year, while head coach Victoria Bothner and her staff earned the Coaching Staff of the Year award. Fisher’s Lindsay Scott and Hartwick College’s Maria Stalder were voted co-Rookies of the Year.
Markarian, a junior, adds the player of the year honor to her first-team all conference selection. She helped lead the Cardinals to their first-ever conference title and first NCAA bid in program history. Currently, Markarian leads the team and conference with 50 points on 21 goals and eight assists. Her 21 goals and 50 points are new single season program records. She registered at least one point in 16-of -20 games played, including a season high seven points against Oswego State. Her unstoppable offensive play has helped jumpstart Fisher’s offense to the tune of 63 goals and 3.15 tallies per game. In conference only play she lead the league with 19 points and seven goals. Markarian is the first Cardinal to win Player of the Year honors.
Scott has played in all 20 games for Fisher making 19 starts. She ranks seventh on the team with eight points (1g, 6a). She is successful in the center midfield role which has helped lead Fisher to a program record 18 wins and a current 17 game win streak. Scott is the second Cardinal to earn Rookie of the Year honors as Markarian was awarded in 2014.
Stalder adjusted well to the college games as she started all 18 games for Hartwick at midfield and ranked third on the team with 13 points (5g, 3a). She had two game winning goals including the overtime tally against Ithaca to give Hartwick its first win against the Bombers in five years. Hartwick finished 13-5 on the season, the most wins the program has seen in a single season since 2009. Stalder is the third Hawk to be named Rookie of the Year joining previous winners Kelsey Kimble (2009) and Katie Lonsky (2012).
Bothner and her staff guided the Cardinals to the Empire 8 regular season title with a conference mark of 8-0. Fisher is currently 18-2 overall, riding a program record 17-game win streak as a sixth year program. The Cardinals won its first ever E8 championship and will make its first NCAA tournament appearance. This is the second time Fisher has been recognized with the coaching honor as former coach Tarah Christenson was recognized in 2012.
One member of each team was named that institution’s representative on the 2016 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 2016 Field Hockey All-Conference Teams
Player of the Year: Emily Markarian, St. John Fisher College
Co- Rookie of the Year: Lindsay Scott, St. John Fisher College
Co- Rookie of the Year: Maria Stalder, Hartwick College
Coaching Staff of the Year: St. John Fisher College