General | 10/14/2019 12:48:57 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on Oct. 14, 2019 for games played from Oct. 7-Oct. 13. It is the seventh Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2019-20 season.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Mitchell Marlow, Utica, Sr., Malone, NY/Franklin Academy
Marlow was the top Empire 8 individual finisher at the 2019 Ronald C. Hoffman Invitational, hosted by St. Lawrence University on Saturday. Marlow placed 23rd overall out of 277 runners at the Atlantic Regional preview event, crossing the finish line in a time of 26:15.9 (5:17.0-mile rate) over the 8,000-meter course. It is Marlow’s fourth E8 weekly honor of 2019.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Riley Corey, St. John Fisher, Fr., Waterloo, NY/Waterloo
Corey was the top Empire 8 individual finisher at the 2019 Ronald C. Hoffman Invitational, hosted by St. Lawrence University on Saturday. Corey placed 16th overall out of 220 runners at the Atlantic Regional preview event, crossing the finish line in a time of 23:40.1 (6:20.9-mile rate) over the 6,000-meter course. It is Corey’s second E8 weekly honor of 2019.
FIELD HOCKEY
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Sabrina Whitehouse, Utica, Jr., F, Greenwich, NY/Greenwich
Whitehouse had two goals and an assist to lead the Pioneers to two wins last week. On Tuesday, Whitehouse recorded an assist as Utica dispatched RPI in a 4-3 overtime win. She followed that up by scoring a pair of goals, including the game-winner in overtime, leading Utica to a 3-2 win over Empire 8 foe Nazareth. She tied the game on a goal with under two minutes to play, then scored again minutes just under five minutes into overtime for her second straight weekly accolade. Whitehouse leads the Pioneers with 17 points on five goals and seven assists this season.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Abigayle Greier, Sage, So., GK, Elma, NY/Iroquois Central
Greier helped Sage to a 2-1 week, recording a 1.28 goals against average and .862 save percentage. She made 12 saves in a 3-2 overtime win over Oswego to begin the week. On Saturday, she stopped seven shots at Washington & Jefferson, before making six saves in a 5-0 shutout win over Bryn Athyn Sunday. Overall, she has six wins for the Gators in 2019.
FOOTBALL
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jermaine Cooper, Morrisville, Sr., WR, New York, NY/Uniondale
Cooper enjoyed an incredible performance on Saturday night for the Mustangs, hauling in eight passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns against No. 22 Cortland. He scored a 34-yard touchdown in the first quarter and snagged a 9-yard touchdown in the fourth. Cooper averaged 27.9 yards per catch in the contest. He now has 33 catches for 565 yards and a league-best seven receiving touchdowns in 2019.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Eli Belle, Utica, Sr., DB, Plainfield, NJ/Plainfield
Belle wrote himself into the record books on Saturday as Utica recorded a 34-28 win over St. John Fisher. In the third quarter, he picked off a pass by Fisher's Hunter Walsh and returned it 49 yards to the endzone for an interception return score which gave Utica a 28-14 lead. The interception return touchdown was the third of Belle's career and his second of the season as he now holds the career and single season records for Utica in that category. Belle also added four tackles and a team-high three pass breakups in the win.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Liam Casey, Cortland, So., P, Woodstown, NJ/Woodstown
Casey averaged 45 yards per punt on three kicks, including one inside the 20-yard line, in Cortland's 42-28 win at Morrisville State Saturday. His 68-yard punt in the second quarter was the longest by a Cortland player since the 1999 season.
MEN’S GOLF
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jake Costa, Nazareth, So., Rochester, NY/Brighton
Costa led all golfers on Sunday by shooting a 75 at the Nazareth Invitational from Irondequoit Country Club. He had four birdies in Sunday’s round and finished 20th overall over the two-day event.
MEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jake Meyer, Elmira, Jr., M, Newark, DE/Salesianum School
Meyer had a hand in both of Elmira's game-winning goals last week, as Elmira defeated both Wells and Alfred to improve to 8-3-2 on the season. Meyer scored the game-winner in a 2-0 victory over Wells on Tuesday with a well-placed free kick from about 20 yards out. He assisted on Tommaso Garavaglia’s game-winner in a 1-0 win over E8 foe Alfred on Saturday to extend his point streak to four consecutive games. Meyer has seven points in 10 games this season.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Justin Miles, St. John Fisher, Sr., GK, Framingham, MA/Victor
Miles picked up a pair of shutouts during the week as the Cardinals defeated Alfred State and Sage by consecutive 1-0 scores. Against the Pioneers, Miles did not allow a goal over 98 minutes, making three saves in the overtime win before adding five more stops in a 1-0 victory over Sage on Saturday. Miles, who began the season as a defender, has not allowed a goal over his last 339:08, spanning nearly four games.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Mikayla Blumenstock, Utica, Sr., F, Poland, NY/Poland
Blumenstock scored all four of Utica's goals in two games, including a natural hat-trick in a 3-0 win over SUNY Poly Wednesday. She tallied in the 31st, 63rd and 72nd minutes of play, a highlight-reel goal in which she took on five defenders by herself in the final 30 yards of the pitch. She added another score on Saturday in an Empire 8 loss to Alfred. Blumenstock now has league-leading totals of 14 goals and 29 points this season.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Hannah Miller, Nazareth, Sr., GK, Butler, PA/Butler
Miller recorded 10 saves in a pair of wins on the week for the Golden Flyers. Miller began the week by stopping six shots in a 2-1 win at Cortland Tuesday, including a great save at the end of regulation that preserved the victory. On Saturday, Miller added four saves in a 1-0 shutout victory over Sage. Miller leads all Empire 8 goalkeepers with a 0.75 goals against average in 2019.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kaili Saffran, St. John Fisher, Sr., Webster, NY/Webster Thomas
Saffran continued her strong play at first singles and doubles as the Cardinals clinched the Empire 8 regular season title on Saturday with an 8-1 win at Sage. Saffran, who has not lost in first singles this season, took care of business again over the weekend with a 6-2, 6-2 decision before pairing up with Cassidy Bell at first doubles for an 8-0 victory.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Alea Steigerwald, St. John Fisher, So., OH, Penfield, NY/Penfield
Steigerwald helped lead the Cardinals to a postseason berth last week as the Cardinals remained unbeaten in Empire 8 play with wins over Houghton and Alfred. The Penfield native averaged 21.5 kills, 11.5 digs, 2.5 service aces and 2.5 blocks on the week. Steigerwald slammed 27 kills and recorded a sparkling .479 hitting percentage to go along with nine digs in a four-set win over previously unbeaten Houghton on Friday. She added 16 kills, 14 digs, four aces and four blocks in a five-set win at Alfred Saturday. Steigerwald continues to rank in the top-five nationally in kills per set (4.61) and points per set (5.38) this season. It is Steigerwald’s fourth E8 weekly honor of 2019.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Savannah Terry, Elmira, Jr., MB, Owego, NY/Owego Free Academy
Terry led the Soaring Eagles to two key conference wins over Sage and Utica. Terry hit an incredible .586 in the two matches with 18 kills to go along with 11 blocks and three service aces. On Friday, Terry nearly recorded a triple-double with 11 kills, eight digs and seven blocks in four-set win over Sage, while hitting .556. On Saturday, she hit a single-match best .636 with seven kills and four blocks in a win over Utica. She has 129 kills and 47 blocks for Elmira in 2019.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Colette Maloney, Hartwick, Fr., OH, Williston Park, NY/Mineola
Maloney averaged 13.5 kills, 10.5 digs, and 1.5 aces in Hartwick's back-to-back conference wins this weekend, lifting them into a tie for fourth in the Empire 8 standings. Maloney slammed 19 kills and hit .462 hitting in Hartwick’s final home match of 2019, a win over Utica. She followed that up with another strong effort the next day at Sage, registering 15 digs, eight kills and an ace in a four-set victory. Maloney, who leads all first-year players with 242 kills, is a four-time E8 Rookie of the Week in 2019.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished 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 E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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