General | 10/21/2019 12:54:00 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on Oct. 21, 2019 for games played from Oct. 14-Oct. 20. It is the eighth Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2019-20 season.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Andrew Ford, St. John Fisher, So., Clinton, NY/Clinton
Ford helped lead the Cardinals to a first-place finish at the ESF Mighty Oak Invite on Saturday, placing third overall out of 58 runners. He completed the 5,000-meter race in 16:32.6 and recorded a mile rate of 5:19.5. The reigning Empire 8 Rookie of the Year earned his third weekly accolade of 2019.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Riley Corey, St. John Fisher, Fr., Waterloo, NY/Waterloo
Corey finished in first place on Saturday as the Cardinals won the ESF Mighty Oak Invite. Corey ran the fastest time of the day, finishing 22 seconds ahead of the field by posting a time of 19:51.9 over 5,000-meters. The freshman sensation recorded a 6:23.6-mile pace en route to her third weekly honor of 2019.
FIELD HOCKEY
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Bre Socker, St. John Fisher, Jr., F, Liverpool, NY/Liverpool
Socker scored nine goals and 18 points in leading the Cardinals to a 3-1 record last week, including a pair of Empire 8 wins. Against Houghton on Monday, Socker scored a career-high four goals before adding another goal in the Cardinals' win over The College at Brockport. On Friday at Sage, Socker matched her career high with four more goals as part of a 10-0 rout before the Liverpool native closed out her week with a pair of shots against No. 1 Middlebury in a tight 2-1 defeat. Socker, a two-time Player of the Week in 2019, leads all Empire 8 players with 22 goals, 47 points and 137 shots. She is also among the national leaders in all three categories.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Tina O’Donnell, Elmira, Sr., GK, Kutztown, PA/Kutztown
O’Donnell made 22 saves and recorded a 0.43 goals-against average and a .957 save percentage in two contests. On Wednesday, O’Donnell logged her fourth shutout of the season by making seven saves in a 2-0 victory at Morrisville State. She held E8 rival Utica to a single goal in 80 minutes of regulation and overtime with 15 saves Saturday, for her sixth game of the season with double-digit stops before Utica won in a shootout. O’Donnell, a two-time Player of the Week in 2019, continues to lead the nation with a .910 save percentage, while lowering her conference-best goals against average to 0.89.
FOOTBALL
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Bill Flatow, Morrisville State, Jr., QB, Mamaroneck, NY/Mamaroneck
Flatow led the Mustangs to a wild 54-51 double overtime victory over Empire 8 opponent Utica College on Saturday, commanding the offensive unit under center. Flatow completed 30-of-47 passes for 381 yards (63.8 completion percentage), while throwing for a season-high total of five touchdown scores. His touchdown strikes came at distances of 19-, 25-, 2-, 6- and 6-yards, respectively. Flatow leads the Empire 8 with 2,015 yards and 17 touchdown passes in 2019 and is second with a 149.2 efficiency rating.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Nick Milgate, Alfred, Sr., LB, Hilton, NY/Hilton
Milgate led the Saxon defense that held No. 22 SUNY Cortland to just 221 yards of total offense with only 55 of them coming on the ground Saturday. Milgate’s defense also only allowed 10 first downs as he had 11 total tackles (seven assisted) with 2.5 tackles for a loss of three yards. Milgate also broke up one pass on the day. He is tied for second in the conference with 66 tackles and is third with 12 tackles for a loss.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Cole Burgess, SUNY Cortland, So., KR/WR, Greenwich, NY/Greenwich
Burgess' special teams play created Cortland's first two touchdowns in a 31-21 win over visiting Alfred. He returned a kickoff 84 yards for a TD with 4:10 left in the first quarter to tie the game at 7-7, and moments later blocked a punt that was returned by a teammate 13 yards for a TD with 13:24 left in the second quarter to put Cortland ahead 14-7. Burgess also caught three passes for 15 yards and finished with 121 all-purpose yards on five plays.
MEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Troy Amegashie, Hartwick, Jr., F, Accra, Ghana/Terra International School
Amegashie willed his team to a 2-0 victory over Elmira Saturday by scoring both goals. The first came as Amegashie dashed into the box with the ball, out-muscled a Soaring Eagle defender on a cutback and drove a ball underneath the EC keeper. In the 81st minute, he unleashed a left-footed strike into the lower left corner that put the game away. Amegashie is tied for second in the E8 with eight goals this season.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ben Middlemiss, Alfred, Fr., GK, Montclair, NJ/Montclair
Middlemiss made five saves in Alfred’s crucial 2-1 win over Empire 8 rival Houghton on Saturday afternoon. He has appeared in 12 games this season and has four victories.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Sierra Neddo, Houghton, So., F, Beaver Falls, NY/Beaver River
Neddo recorded two goals and one assist while leading the Highlanders to road wins over SUNY Canton and Sage. On Thursday, Neddo opened the scoring and later added an assist in a 4-1 win over Canton. Saturday, she added her team-best 10th goal of the season in a 2-0 win at Sage. Neddo, a two-time E8 Player of the Week, is tied for second in the league with 10 goals.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Cassandra Robataille, Hartwick, Sr., GK, Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam
Robataille made 12 saves on her way to a pair of shutouts last week. She started the week with five saves in a 1-0 win over Oneonta on Tuesday. Her night included a diving save in the 82nd minute on a close-range shot to preserve Hartwick's 1-0 lead. Robataille was even better on Saturday in a big conference matchup versus Nazareth, stopping seven shots in the 0-0 draw. She kept the game going in the first overtime during a frantic sequence for the Hawks, stopping back-to-back shots taken near the left side of the goal. The two shutouts tie her career high with nine on the season and give her 26 in her Hartwick career, third in program history.
MEN’S SWIMMNG & DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Mark Dunkelberg, Nazareth, Sr, Freestyle, Gouverneur, NY/Gouverneur
Dunkelberg won the 50-yard freestyle (21.24) versus Geneseo to open the season Saturday and is currently ranked sixth in the nation in the event. He was also second in the 100-yard free in a very close finish (48.76), as he was just .20 out of first and .005 ahead of third. He also swam the anchor in the second place 200-yard medley relay with a split of 20.70 in the freestyle leg. he was the second swimmer in the 200-yard free relay with the fastest split in the event (20.44).
WOMEN’S SWIMMNG & DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Lauren Serotta, Alfred, Jr., Breaststroke/IM, Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna
Serotta picked up the Saxons’ only individual win of the meet on Saturday against Rochester Institute of Technology. She won the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:01.84. She then took second in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:18.50. Serotta joined Rachel Flaherty, Alexis DeLuca and Caitlin Behr in the 200-yard medley relay for third with a time of 2:00.22. She rounded out her day with a third-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:24.88.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Mikalya Santulli, St. John Fisher, So., Central Square, NY/Christian Brothers Academy
Santulli was named Most Valuable Player of the Empire 8 Women’s Tennis Championship, in leading the Cardinals to their first league title in program history over the weekend. On Friday, Santulli teamed with Suzanna Pociecha to earn an 8-3 win at second doubles over Houghton in the semifinals. In the championship match versus Nazareth Saturday, Santulli and Pociecha earned an 8-5 win over Lauren Carr and Hannah Chesner at second doubles to start the day. Santulli clinched the match with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Carr at third singles.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Alea Steigerwald, St. John Fisher, So., OH, Penfield, NY/Penfield
Steigerwald averaged a double-double last week as the Cardinals went 2-2 overall against tough regionally-ranked opponents. Steigerwald began her week with 24 kills and 14 digs against Stevens Institute of Technology before closing out Friday with 21 more kills, 17 digs and a career-high seven aces in a five-set win over Catholic. On Saturday, Steigerwald put away 14 kills and had five digs in a sweep of Hunter before coming away with 13 kills, five digs and two aces against Kean University. She remains among the national leaders with 4.64 kills and 5.42 points per set and earned her fifth E8 weekly honor of 2019.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Lauren Gilbert, St. John Fisher, Fr., OH, Dublin, OH/Dublin-Jerome
Gilbert continued her strong debut season, helping lead the Cardinals to a pair of wins in New Jersey over the weekend. She posted 40 kills, 31 digs and seven service aces as the Cardinals defeated Catholic and Hunter. On Friday, Gilbert produced eight kills and two digs against Stevens before adding 16 kills, 17 digs and four aces in a five-set thriller against Catholic. On Saturday, Gilbert finished with eight kills and five digs against Hunter before capping off the weekend with eight more kills to go along with seven digs and two aces against Kean. Gilbert, a three-time E8 Rookie of the Week, is third in the conference with 3.41 points per set.
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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