Empire 8 Conference Players of the Week - October 29
Empire 8 Players of the Week
October 22 – October 28
Field Hockey
Offensive Player – Bre Socker, St. John Fisher (Sophomore, Liverpool, N.Y.)
Socker helped lead St. John Fisher to its fifth and sixth consecutive wins last week as the Cardinals defeated Nazareth and Hartwick to wrap up the second overall seed in the upcoming Empire 8 Championship. In all, Socker totaled eight points including three goals and a pair of assists while taking 14 combined shots including 10 on goal. Against Nazareth, Socker had two goals in a 7-2 win over the Golden Flyers before adding a goal and an assist in Fisher's 5-0 win over Hartwick on Saturday.
Defensive Player – Reghan Dunn, Washington & Jefferson (Sophomore, Earleville, Md.)
In addition to being a key component of No. 18 W&J's defense, Dunn also finished second on the team last week with four points on a goal and two assists. In the first match of the week against Juniata, the sophomore dished out an assist to Rachel Fromm on the Presidents' lone goal of the game. She then followed that up by recording a goal and an assist in W&J's 7-0 victory over Elmira to close out the 2018 regular season. On defense, the Red & Black allowed a combined seven shots across both tilts, keeping the Soaring Eagles to zero in the second game. With Saturday's win, the Presidents head into this week's E8 tournament with a perfect 8-0 record.
Football
Offensive Player – Johnnie Akins, Cortland (Senior, Roosevelt, N.Y.)
Akins ran for 208 yards on 37 carries (5.6 yds./carry) in Cortland's 22-3 win over visiting St. John Fisher on Saturday. He hit the 200-yard rushing mark for the second time in his career in the win.
Defensive Player – Sadeeq Nathaniel, Morrisville State (Sophomore, Bronx, N.Y.)
Nathanel collected a total of three tackles in Saturday's 38-14 win over Buffalo State in Empire 8 play, but added a pair of interceptions and two pass breakups to his tallies. In the first quarter, the sophomore stepped in front of the Bengal pass to collect the interception, leading to a Mustang score. On the ensuing Buffalo State possession, he collected his second interception of the quarter and contest, returning the ball 52 yards for the defensive score.
Special Teams Player - Cole Burgess, Cortland (Freshman, Greenwich, N.Y.)
Burgess returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown to start the second half to give Cortland a 12-0 lead in the Red Dragons' 22-3 win over visiting St. John Fisher. The kickoff return TD is his second of the season, and the 97 yards is tied for the fifth longest kick return in school history. Burgess finished with three kick returns for 147 yards (49.0 per return) and also caught a 36-yard pass that started a Cortland scoring drive in the third quarter.
Men’s Soccer
Offensive Player – Daniel Aversano, Stevens (Senior, Upper Saddle River, N.J.)
Aversano totaled two goals and an assist as Stevens blanked Utica 4-0 to cap a perfect E8 regular season.
Defensive Player – Randy Miksch, Utica (Sophomore, Lake Villa, Ill.)
Miksch was quite busy for the Pioneers in a pair of losses last week, but held his own in one non-conference match and the team's Empire 8 finale. In a week where 41 shots came his way, the net minder totaled 17 saves in 24 shots on goal. He stopped nine of twelve opposing opportunities in a 3-1 loss to Hobart on Tuesday, and added eight more saves on twelve shots in the team's finale against Stevens.
Women’s Soccer
Offensive Player – Mary LoCicero, Nazareth (Senior, Fairport, N.Y.)
LoCicero closed out her women's soccer career with three goals in the Golden Flyers' final two games. She scored twice in Wednesday's 4-0 non-conference win over Buffalo State and then added a goal in the team’s 4-0 season-ending triumph over Houghton on Saturday. She finished the season as the Golden Flyers' leading scorer with 17 points on eight goals and an assist.
Defensive Player - Hannah Miller, Nazareth (Junior, Butler, Pa.)
Miller had another strong week for the Golden Flyers in totaling six saves in two more shutout wins. She had three saves each in wins over Buffalo State and Houghton to close the season with a 0.82 goals-against average, a .901 save percentage and seven shutouts.
Swimming & Diving
Men’s Athlete – Seth Farrand, Nazareth (Sophomore, Franklinville, N.Y.)
Farrand helped the Golden Flyers get their 2018-19 season off to a good start with dominating performances in dual meet wins over Alfred and Brockport over the weekend. He won seven races altogether and set four pool records in Nazareth's meet against Brockport Saturday. He won the 50- (:21.33) and 100-yard (:47.18) freestyles against Alfred along with the 200 medley and 200 free relays. Then at home against Brockport, he won the 50-meter free (:23.42) and 100-meter free (:52.14).
Women’s Athlete – Lauren Serotta, Alfred (Sophomore, Niskayuna, N.Y.)
Serotta won three races on Friday against Nazareth. She picked up wins in the 100-yard backstroke (1:02.63), 200-yard backstroke (2:16.82) and the 100-yard butterfly (1:04.12).
Women’s Volleyball
Player – Kelsey Milligan, Nazareth (Senior, Pavilion, N.Y.)
Milligan racked up 47 more kills over six matches (2.47 per set) and went over 1,000 kills for her career as the Golden Flyers went 4-2. She posted a .394 hitting percentage (47-10-94) and added six service aces, 13 digs and 10 blocks. She combined to hit .553 (23-2- 38) in Empire 8 Conference wins over Elmira and Utica early in the week and then added 24 more kills in matches against Penn College, MYU, Montclair State and Lycoming. She leads the Golden Flyers with 271 kills and 90 blocks for the season.
Rookie- Haley Unverdorben, Houghton (Freshman, Cuba, N.Y.)
Unverdorben tallied 114 assists in Houghton’s four-match week, good enough for an average of 8.14 per set. Against Geneva College she had a double double with 29 assists and 12 digs. She also added 11 aces on the week –averaging .785 per set.
About the Empire 8 Conference
The members of the Empire 8 are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and aspire to be regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership seeks to distinguish itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the Empire 8.