Empire 8 Conference Players of the Week
Empire 8 Players of the Week
Football Offensive Player – Hartwick
Ronald Ballard, Junior-Deposit, NY/Deposit
Ballard registered 151 yards rushing to go along with his four touchdowns Saturday in a 49-24 win over Alfred State. He also caught four passes for 59 yards to pace the Hawks.
Football Defensive Player – Brockport
Alex West, Junior - Dansville, N.Y./Dansville
West played a big role in Brockport’s stifling defense that held Ithaca scoreless for 58 minutes in a 13-7 road victory. West put constant pressure on the opposing quarterback, recording two sacks and three quarterback hits as well as a forced fumble. The junior recorded five tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss of 10-yards and also got his hand on a pass breakup.
Football Special Teams Player - Cortland
Cole Burgess, Freshman – Greenwich, NY/Greenwich
Burgess returned a kickoff 95 yards for a TD to give Cortland the lead for good in a 57-19 win over visiting Framingham State. The Rams had just scored with 5:08 left in the third quarter to take a 19-14 lead before Burgess broke free for the seventh-longest kickoff return in school history and a 22-19 Cortland advantage. He finished with 187 kick return yards on four attempts (46.8 yds./return), including returns of 41 and 36 yards in addition to his TD.
Men’s Golf Player – St. John Fisher
Christopher Thompson, Senior- Saratoga Spring, NY/Saratoga Springs
Thompson had his finest showing in a Fisher uniform after the senior won the St. John Fisher Invitational over the weekend to lead the Cardinals to a first-place team finish by more than 40 strokes. Thompson finished with a 54-hole score of 220 (+5) to overtake the top spot on the leaderboard as he was the only golfer to shoot below par on Sunday after carding a final round 71 (-1). In all, Fisher posted 37 birdies on the weekend with Thompson accounting for nine to his credit.
Women’s Golf Player – Cortland
Tiffany Schapira, Senior, Valley Stream, NY/Valley Stream South
Schapira recorded a career-best round of 76 during the opening day of competition at the St. Lawrence Invitational. She finished tied for 13th out of 54 golfers with a two-day score of 159 and helped Cortland place fifth in the 11-team tournament.
Men’s Cross Country Runner - Utica
Tyler Wright, Senior - Little Falls, NY/West Canada Valley
Wright broke the tape as the first overall men's finisher, and his individual win set the stage for a team victory at the Alfred University Short Course Invitational on Saturday. Wright traversed the six kilometer course in a time of 19:43 to lead a field of 51 runners, and the Pioneers maintained a tight pack behind him as they grabbed five of the top seven positions in a decisive victory. Utica posted just 19 points, and won the meet by a margin of 22 over second place St. John Fisher College.
Women’s Cross Country Runner – Utica
Kaitlyn Stinson, Senior - South Kortright, NY/ South Kortright
Stinson spearheaded a first place team effort at the Alfred University Short Course Invitational on Saturday by claiming the top individual honors. The senior blazed through the modified four kilometer course in a time of 15:14 to win the race by twelve seconds, and was one of three Pioneer competitors to place in the top five as Utica won the team competition with 29 points.
Women’s Tennis Player – St. John Fisher College
Kaili Saffran, Sophomore – Wbester, NY/Webster Thomas
Saffran helped bolster the Cardinals to win both of their matches on the week. The sophomore teamed up with Cassidy Bell to take first doubles against Brockport, 8-3. Then she would go on to sweep in first singles against her Golden Eagles opponent with scores of, 6-3 and 6-2. Fisher went on to defeat Brockport 7-2 on Friday evening. The Cardinals then took home their first Empire 8 Conference victory with an 8-1 victory over Elmira College on Saturday. Saffran and Bell once again took the first doubles win, 8-4. The Webster native then went on to complete her second sweep in two days in first singles with scores of 6-2 and 6-1.
Field Hockey Offensive Player- Houghton
Caitlin Jennings, Sophomore- Vestal, NY/Vestal
Caitlin Jennings totaled five goals and three assists this week over a three game span. Against Wells, she had two goals and one assist. Against Keuka she added three goals, two assists.
Field Hockey Defensive Player- St. John Fisher
Ashley Maynard, Senior, GK- Rochester, NY/Hilton
Ashley Maynard was a force in goal last week as the St. John Fisher College field hockey team went 1-1 overall after facing No. 13 Williams College and St. Lawrence. Maynard totaled 23 saves on the weekend and allowed just three goals while playing 140 minutes in goal. Against the No. 13 Ephs, Maynard was at her best as the senior keeper totaled a career-high 17 saves over 70 minutes before bouncing back to collect six stops in a 1-0 road win over St. Lawrence on Saturday. To date, Maynard, who is 2-1 on the season, ranks third in the Empire 8 in both saves and goals against average.
Women’s Volleyball Player- Alfred
Amber Smith, Junior, Outside Hitter- Penfield, NY/ Webster Schroeder
Junior Amber Smith broke a career-best in kills as she registered 28 against the Knights of Mt. St. Mary. Her stat line for Saturday’s morning match was 28 kills on 64 attempts with five errors (.359 hitting percentage). Saturday’s match was her first of the season with 20+ kills as she also set a season-best of 18 digs. In total, Smith had 58 kills, 44 digs, three block assists and one ace on the weekend to lead the Saxons.
Women’s Volleyball Rookie- St. John Fisher
Alea Steigerwald, Freshman, Outside Hitter- Penfield, NY/Penfield
Alea Steigerwald of the St. John Fisher College women's volleyball team showed her all-around skills throughout the past week. The freshman was named to the All-Tournament Team at the University of Rochester over the weekend after leading the Cardinal offense. Steigerwald started the week with a team-high nine kills and 24 digs in the Fisher straight set win over Keuka. To start the weekend, the Penfield native tallied 12 kills, 17 digs, three assists and one block in another straight set victory. To round out the weekend, Steigerwald posted a game-high 21 kills in a five set thriller over Wells, followed by nine kills and 11 digs versus Rochester.
Men’s Soccer Offensive Player- Nazareth
Sam Smyth, Freshman, Forward- Pittsford, NY/ Rush-Henrietta
Smyth scored all three goals -- the first three of his career -- in Nazareth's 3-1 win over D'Youville Saturday evening.
Men’s Soccer Defensive Player- Utica
Jonathan Side, Junior, Goalie- Plattsburgh, NY/Plattsburgh
In a week where the Pioneers won one of their three matches, Side ensured the Pioneers were never out of any match over that time frame. The junior keeper withstood a nine shot on goal effort from Clarkson with seven saves in an 0-2 defeat on Wednesday. On Saturday, a five save effort was enough to buy time for Alex Purcell's golden goal in a 4-3 overtime victory over Cobleskill. A key second half save on Cobleskill's Mohamed Amar stood out among the junior's successful efforts for the evening. Side rounded out his week by maintaining a clean sheet through the first 72 minutes of play with eight saves in a 1-0 defeat against Oswego on Sunday.
Women’s Soccer Offensive Player- Hartwick
Tanner Reed, Sophomore, Forward- Unadilla, NY/ Unatego Central
Reed was named the Offensive Most Valuable Player of the Mayor's Cup on Sunday. She scored the Hawks' lone goal in a 1-1 draw with Mount Saint Mary on Saturday and followed it up with the team's first goal in a 4-1 victory over Smith Sunday.
Women’s Soccer Defensive Player- Nazareth
Hannah Miller, Junior, Goalie- Butler, PA/Butler
Miller helped the Golden Flyers to a 1-1 week. She had 9 saves in Nazareth's 1-0 shutout win over 14th-ranked Geneseo last Thursday, then added 8 saves in a 1-0 loss to St. Lawrence Saturday. For the season, she has allowed just two goals to go with 30 saves for a 0.51 GAA and a .938 save percentage