Athletes of the Week: Sept. 5-11
Football Offensive Player – Utica
Teddy VanGalen, Senior, QB – Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa
Senior Teddy VanGalen finished with 22 completions for 298 yards and three touchdowns to lead Utica to a thrilling 34-30 comeback win over No. 18 Ohio Northern on Saturday. VanGalen orchestrated a pair of dives in the final 4:30 of play to erase a 10-point deficit and earn Utica its second win in as many weeks. VanGalen ranks second in the E8 in yards per game (286.7) and third in completion percentage (61.5).
Football Defensive Player – Alfred
A.J. LiCata – OLB – Lake View, NY/Frontier
A.J. LiCata had 15 tackles, including six solo and one for a loss, in the Saxons’ 33-17 win at RPI. LiCata had 1.5 sacks for a loss of five yards.
Football Special Teams Player – Cortland
Alex Wasserman, Sophomore, KR/RB - Closter, NJ/Northern Valley Demarest
Alex Wasserman returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown to give Cortland the lead for good at 14-7 in 49-21 win over visiting Framingham State. He also blocked a punt that set up a short Cortland TD drive early in the second quarter that extended the lead to 21-7, and he scored from 46 yards out on a screen pass later in the second.
Field Hockey Offensive Player – Stevens
Cassidy O’Hearn, Junior, F/M – Silver Spring, MD/Springbrook
Junior Cassidy O'Hearn tallied eight points off three goals and two assists in a 3-0 week for Stevens. O'Hearn tied the game at 2-2 against FDU-Florham to force overtime and was one of three Ducks to score in the shootout. She converted a penalty-shot six minutes into the contest against Houghton which proved to be the game winner in the 4-0 contest. O’Hearn scored one goal and added two assists in the dominating 8-1 win against Brockport.
Field Hockey Defensive Player – Stevens
Emily Stukenborg, Senior, GK – Stockholm, NJ/Wallkill Valley Regional
Senior Emily Stukenborg made 20 saves in a 3-0 week for the Ducks that included a 3-2 win over FDU-Florham, a 4-0 E8 win over Houghton, and an 8-1 win over Brockport. Stukenborg's greatest performance came against FDU when the veteran converted 17 saves for the Ducks as the team later won in a shootout. In the shootout, Stukenborg stopped all three of FDU's chances to clinch the win.
Men’s Cross Country Runner – Ithaca
Sean Phillips, Senior – East Aurora, NY/East Aurora
Senior Sean Phillips took individual top honors on the 5K course at the Hamilton College Short Course with a time of 15:31.7, which was just under four seconds faster than the runner-up from Oneonta. Ithaca placed fourth as a team.
Women’s Cross Country Runner – Stevens
Amy Regan, Senior – Green Brook, NJ/Watchung Hills
Amy Regan led Stevens to a second place finish at the Stonitsch Invitational, just behind national power Williams. Regan placed first with a time of 18:04.2, 29.1 seconds faster than the second place time. The senior broke her own Vassar Farm course record by seven seconds.
Men’s Golf Athlete – Nazareth
Kyle Bromley, Senior – Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Sutherland
Kyle Bromley tied for first at the St. John Fisher Invitational with a three day total of 227 (+11). He shot a 77 and 78 on Saturday at Tim Banks Golf Club and then carded a 72 on Sunday at Beaver Meadows.
Women’s Golf Player – Elmira
Audrey Clarke, Junior – Churchville, NY/Churchville-Chili
Audrey Clarke had an outstanding two-day performance over the weekend at the Utica College Invitational, played at the Yahnandasis Golf Club. She carded a two-day score of 161 (+15), which helped her secure a seventh-place finish out of the field of 46 golfers. She fired an impressive 77 (+4) on day two of the event, the best single-round of her career, as well as the second-best round of the tournament. Her 77-round also tied the EC program record for the lowest single-round score versus par at four-over.
Men’s Soccer Offensive Player – St. John Fisher
Jeff Meyers, Freshman, F – Liverpool, NY/Liverpool
Jeff Meyers finished with four goals in a 1-1-1 week for Fisher, including the first win of the season for the Cardinals. Meyers scored twice on Tuesday in the 3-1 win against Hobart and would scores once against St. Lawrence and Clarkson.
Men’s Soccer Defensive Player – Alfred
Chris Gutierrez, Junior, GK – Holbrook, NY/Sachem East
Chris Gutierrez earned his second and third shutout wins of the season this past weekend. The junior goalie made nine saves against Medaille College, making it his new career-high in saves during a shutout win. Gutierrez also made three saves against Brooklyn College. He faced a total of 24 shots this weekend with 12 on goal while playing all 90 minutes.
Women’s Soccer Offensive Player – Alfred
Amanda Roberts, Freshman, Mid – Amherst, NY/Amherst
Amanda Roberts played a key part in the Saxons’ continued success and undefeated streak. She added two more goals this weekend with one against Medaille and one against Bard College, but her big outing was against Hilbert College with one goal and two assists on Tuesday evening. Her goal was her first of her collegiate career and it was off a penalty kick. Roberts continues to have a hand in one or more goals in every matchup this season, tallying points in all four. She added eight points to her season this past week and only had one shot that was not on goal.
Women’s’ Soccer Defensive – Ithaca
Stacey DiGiorgio, Sophomore, GK – Utica, NY/Thomas R. Proctor
Stacey DiGiorgio of the nationally-ranked Ithaca College women's soccer team helped secure two wins for the Bombers last week after downing No. 24 Oneonta before outlasting Farmingdale, 1-0 in the second overtime period. DiGiorgio was credited with two shutout wins last week after making 11 combined saves in nearly 200 minutes of play. Against Oneonta, the sophomore keeper turned aside six shots in a 1-0 win before making five saves in another 1-0 decision against Farmingdale.
Women’s Tennis Player – Elmira
Tilila El Yazidi, Freshman – Morocco, Africa/Hebron Academy
Tilila El Yazidi was flawless in this past week's action, posting a perfect 6-0 record in all matches. The rookie talent went 3-0 at first singles, with all three victories coming in straight sets, and posted an identical 3-0 mark at first doubles. Four of her week's six wins were registered against Empire 8 opponents, Houghton and Utica. El Yazidi has yet to drop a set in singles action this year.
Women’s Volleyball Player – Ithaca
Joelle Goldstein, Junior, OH – Kings Park, NY/Kings Park
Joelle Goldstein paced the Ithaca offense during a 5-0 week, which included a four-match sweep at the Buttermaker Invitational, hosted by Muhlenberg College. She racked up 52 kills on 127 attacks over the course of the week. She saved her best for the weekend tournament, amassing double-digit kills in each match, as the Bombers beat three teams with winning records, including previously unbeaten DeSales University. She marked double-doubles in three of the matches, bringing her total to four on season.
Women’s Volleyball Rookie – Stevens
Casey King, Freshman, OH – Wallington, NJ/IHA
Casey King was tabbed to the All-Tournament team at the New Paltz Invitational as she registered 27 kills on 64 attempts (.359), 12 aces, 33 digs and four blocks in 12 sets played. Against Fredonia, King had four kills and a team high four aces. King hit .406 against Clarkson with career-highs in three categories (13 kills, 5 aces and 20 digs). She finished with nine kills and a .571 hitting percent against Sage College and added six digs.