Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on Sept. 9, 2019 for games played from Sept. 3-Sept. 8. It is the second Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2019-20 season.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Mitchell Marlow, Utica, Sr., Malone/Franklin Academy
Marlow set the pace for Utica as the Pioneers opened the season at the Hamilton Short Course invitational on Saturday. He clung tightly to a strong lead pack, and that positioning netted him a seventh-place finish in a highly competitive field that included many top Division III powers along with some Division II competition as well. Marlow traversed the 5,000-meter course in a time of 15:47.8 to rank as the top Division III runner in the entire field. He averaged a 5:06 mile at a challenging course on College Hill in Clinton, NY.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Kerry Flower, Sage, So., Schenectady, NY/Schalmont
Flower earned her second straight weekly honor by winning the Stephen A. Warde Invitational hosted by SUNY Cobleskill in a time of 23:51.15 over the 6,000-meter course. She defeated 90 runners in the event and helped Sage to the team crown as well as the Gators won the 10-team field with their score of 30.
FIELD HOCKEY
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Sydney Gagnon, Hartwick, Fr., F/M, Chestertown, NY/North Warren Central
Gagnon played an integral part in a pair of Hartwick wins, as the Hawks moved to 3-0 on the season. She scored her first collegiate goal, which proved to be the game-winner with under four minutes remaining on Wednesday versus crosstown non-conference rival Oneonta, giving the Hawks a 3-2 victory. She followed that up with a dominant performance on Friday in an 8-2 rout of Morrisville, putting up a goal to go along with two assists.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Amanda Chuttey, Nazareth, So., GK, Auburn, NY/Port Byron
Chuttey made 10 saves, including eight in the second half for her second shutout (first solo) of 2019, as Nazareth defeated Keuka 3-0 on Saturday in its first road game of the season. She leads all Empire 8 goalkeepers with a 0.44 goals against average and .955 save percentage through three games this season.
FOOTBALL
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kishaun Bell, Hartwick, So., WR, Beacon, NY/Beacon
Bell caught all three Hartwick touchdowns in the season-opener against Wilkes, totaling eight receptions for 147 yards with a long of 33 on the day's first score. Bell’s first touchdown was caught on the run early in the first quarter in the back of the endzone. The second score came with the Hawks down 17-7 in the third quarter, coming on a jump ball on the left side of the end zone that made it a 17-13 game. His last score of the day came on the first play of the fourth quarter, as he jumped and twisted to catch a ball in the back of the end zone, somehow getting a foot down in bounds for the touchdown to get Hartwick to back within one score.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Leo Pamphile, Alfred, Sr., DE, Spring Valley, NY/Spring Valley
Pamphile, a captain, helped Alfred open up the 2019 season in fine fashion with a 42-0 road win at Thiel. Pamphile was part of the defense that only allowed a total of 107 yards and only five yards of rushing as he, alone, pushed back their line of scrimmage five times for -25 yards. Out of his 5.0 tackles for a loss, four were sacks of the Tomcats' quarterbacks that resulted in -24 yards. He added two more solo tackles and three assisted for 10 total on the day.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Justin Wheeler, St. John Fisher, Jr., LB, Binghamton, NY/Susquehanna Valley
Wheeler was a dominant force on Saturday as the Cardinals held Buffalo State to just 53 rushing yards in a 23-6 win to begin the season. Wheeler finished the game with a game-high 13 tackles to go along with a career-high 3.0 sacks. The junior was in the Bengals' backfield all game as he finished with 5.0 tackles for a loss. In all, Wheeler came up with nine solo tackles in the win.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Maki Medici, Utica, Jr., K/P, Watervilet, NY/Shaker
Medici handled the field goal kicking and punting chores in an exemplary level for Utica on Saturday, as Utica rolled to a 40-14 win over St. Lawrence. As a kicker, he made both of his field goal attempts from 24 and 34 yards while also drilling four point after attempts through the uprights. As a punter, Medici was an instrumental part of entirely negating the Saints punt return unit. He punted five times at an average of 42.20 yards for the evening and sported a long of 52 yards. Three of his five punts were fair caught, and he aided the coverage with the rest as the Saints did not sport a single punt return yard in the contest.
MEN’S GOLF
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Josh Kienz, Utica, Jr., Newburgh, NY/Valley Central
Kienz recorded a strong fifth-place finish at the St. Lawrence Invitational over the weekend. After opening with a 77 on Saturday that included four birdies, he raised his game to an even higher level on Sunday. In the second round, Kienz birdied five holes, including three on a bogey-free front nine on his way to an impressive three-under par round of 69. He carded a 33 on the front nine that led him to a tremendous final round. His two-day total of 146 placed him at just two-over par for the tournament. The former Empire 8 Rookie of the Year had the best second round of the tournament.
MEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Justin Eaton, Alfred, Fr., F, Williamson, NY/Williamson
Eaton recorded his first collegiate hat-trick, scoring three times in just under 10 minutes in a 4-3 win over Baruch on Sunday. He got Alfred on the board with a penalty kick goal in the 33rd minute that cut the Baruch lead to 2-1. Eaton tied the game five minutes later off an assist from Matthew Wedzik. Eaton completed the hat-trick moments later in the 42nd minute, as he lunged forward to tap a pass from Mason Sanborn with the bottom of his foot past the Baruch keeper to give the Saxons a 3-2 lead. Eaton recorded his second multi-goal game of the season and leads Alfred with five goals in four games.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Giddel Alvarado, Sage, So., D, Newburgh, NY/Newburgh Free Academy
Alvarado, a center back, tallied four points on a goal and two assists, while helping lead a defense that allowed just one goal in a pair of wins for Sage. On Saturday, he assisted on the game-opening goal in the first half and scored the game winner in the 59th minute to give Sage a 2-1 win over Baruch. That was also the first career win for first-year head coach Matt Esposito. On Sunday, Alvarado assisted on the game-winning goal in the opening half and helped limit Cazenovia to two shots on goal in a 4-0 win.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Natalie O’Brien, Alfred, Sr., F/M, Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse-Minoa
O’Brien tallied six points, while scoring both of the Alfred’s game-winning goals on the week in wins over Medaille and Pitt-Bradford. On Wednesday, she scored the game-winner in the 35th minute and added a pair of assists in a 5-1 win over Medaille. On Saturday, O’Brien scored in the sixth minute to lead Alfred to a 3-0 win over Pitt-Bradford. O’Brien leads Alfred and is tied for the Empire 8 lead with three game-winning goals in 2019. Her eight points are also second in the conference.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Hannah Miller, Nazareth, Sr., GK, Butler, PA/Butler
Miller made 12 saves, including eight combined in the second half and overtime, in the Golden Flyers' 2-1 home-field win over previously unbeaten St. Lawrence Saturday. The senior has a 0.63 goals-against average and a save percentage of .882 through the first three games of the season.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Elise Swanson, Houghton, Fr., Bemus Point, NY/Maple Grove
Swanson won both singles matches and a doubles contest in her collegiate debut for Houghton. Swanson clinched Houghton College’s 5-4 victory in the season opener against SUNY Oswego on Tuesday with a 6-3, 6-0 second singles victory following an 8-2 first doubles win with teammate Catie Moore. Swanson went on to defeat Isabella Arrigo of SUNY Cortland at second singles, 7-5, 6-1 on Friday afternoon.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Alea Steigerwald, St. John Fisher, So., OH, Penfield, NY/Penfield
Steigerwald averaged 15.3 kills (5.3 per set) and seven digs over three matches to lead St. John Fisher College to a 3-1 mark at the RIT Invitational over the weekend. The Cardinals secured wins over Buffalo State, SUNY Poly and host RIT, the defending Liberty League champions. Steigerwald was incredibly efficient from the floor, hitting .320 on 103 total attempts. Against SUNY Poly, Steigerwald finished with 12 kills, two blocks and three digs before hitting .417 and slamming 18 kills to go along with six digs against RIT. She closed out her week with 16 kills and 13 digs against Rochester. She is averaging 4.54 kills and 5.13 points per set this season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Colette Maloney, Hartwick, Fr., OH, Williston Park, NY/Mineola
Maloney averaged 11.25 kills and 11.25 digs per match over Hartwick's 3-1 weekend at the Lycoming Tournament. She started with nine kills (on a .389 attack percentage), seven digs, two blocks, and an ace in a sweep of the hosts on Friday, and had a career-high 15 kills, nine digs, and a block in five sets in the next match vs. Elizabethtown. She followed that performance up with a double-double in match one Saturday vs. Alfred State, registering 14 kills and 12 digs in the four-set win. She then tied her career high with 17 digs and had seven kills and an ace in a five-set win over Pitt-Bradford in her fourth and final match of the weekend.
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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