General | 2/19/2020 7:57:17 AM
The Cardinals of St. John Fisher will to defend its Empire 8 crown, as eight teams will battle for the 2020 E8 Championship. The upcoming season gets underway with Nazareth, Sage and Fisher in action on Feb. 22, as league play begins on March 21. The top-four teams will advance to the Empire 8 Championship Tournament, which will take place at the home of the regular season champion and top-seed on May 1-2. The Empire 8 Champion will receive an automatic berth into the 2020 NCAA Division III Men’s Lacrosse Championship.
Fans can watch the action all season long, free of charge on
Empire 8 TV.
Players to Watch (Sorted Alphabetically by Player)
Nathan Anderson, Houghton, Jr., A, Rochester, NY/Homeschooled – Anderson led the Highlanders in scoring last season with 55 points on 34 goals and 21 assists to go along with 70 ground balls and 20 caused turnovers.
John Avery, Utica, So., A, Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon – Avery enjoyed an excellent debut season for the Pioneers in 2019, leading the team with 29 goals. He had 12 multiple-goal efforts and will be counted on to play a greater role in 2020.
Garrette Briggs, Alfred, Sr., M/FO, Horseheads, NY/Horseheads – Briggs earned 2019 All-Empire 8 honorable mention accolades after winning 77.6 percent of his face-offs taken (260-for-335), second best in all of Division III. He is a three-time All-Empire 8 selection.
Kainen Francis-Thompson, Hartwick, So., A, Hogansburg, NY/Massena – Francis-Thompson enjoyed an excellent rookie season in 2019, scoring 37 goals and 51 points to earn All-Empire 8 second team honors.
Jeremy Jacob, Nazareth, Jr., A, Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon – Jacob scored 26 goals for the Golden Flyers in 2019 on his way to earning All-Empire 8 honorable mention accolades.
Robert Martin, Sage, So., A, Saugerties, NY/Saugerties – Martin led the Gators in scoring as a first-year in 2019 with 53 points on 19 goals and 34 assists.
Nicholas Miller, St. John Fisher, Jr., A, Ithaca, NY/Ithaca – Miller comes off his program and E8 record 82-goal season which ranked second in all of Division III. He added 32 assists for a St. John Fisher and league record 114 points. Miller, a 2020 Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-American, was a 2019 All-Empire 8 first team selection.
Sam Shaw, Elmira, So., A, Portland, ME/Portland – Shaw was Elmira’s leading scorer as a first-year student-athlete in 2019, scoring 24 goals.
Team Capsules (Sorted by 2019 Standings)
St. John Fisher
St. John Fisher is coming off its finest season in program history, setting a program record with 17 victories, while winning its first Empire 8 Championship and advancing to the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinals were among the top-10 nationally in several categories, including scoring offense (17.30 goals per game) and scoring margin (9.50 goals per game). St. John Fisher returns nearly its entire starting lineup from last season, including 2020 Inside Lacrosse Division III Preseason All-Americans, juniors Nicholas Miller, Jack Mulvihill and Joe Post. Miller set Empire 8 single-season records with 82 goals and 114 points last season. Ian Evans, the 2019 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, recorded 85 points on 48 goals and 37 assists. Overall, Fisher returns 31 players from 2019, including eight All-Empire 8 picks. The Cardinals are ranked No. 14 in the preseason United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association/Warrior and New Balance poll, No. 15 in the Nike/US Lacrosse preseason poll and No. 17 in the Faceoff Magazine Yearbook poll.
Hartwick
The Hawks return 23 players and six starters from last season’s team that won 10 games and advanced to the Empire 8 Tournament. Senior goalkeeper C.J. Alesandrini is a two-time All-Empire 8 second team selection. Last season, he played in all 15 games and recorded a stout .555 save percentage, while winning 10 games. Sophomore forward Kainen Francis-Thompson enjoyed an excellent rookie season in 2019, scoring 37 goals and 51 points to earn All-Empire 8 second team honors. The Hawks also return senior David Demand, who recorded 41 points on 23 goals and 18 assists. Defensively, Hartwick will look to replace All-Empire 8 first team selection Garrison Wojtas, who had 126 ground balls and 44 caused turnovers.
Nazareth
The Golden Flyers return 27 players and eight starters from the 2019 squad. Despite the loss of offensive firepower in 2019 graduates Anthony Basile and Jack Crowley, who combined for 165 career goals, Nazareth looks to be a deeper in 2020 with a good nucleus of midfielders and long-stick defenders. Junior Jeremy Jacob was a solid offensive contributor in 2019 after moving from midfield to attack. He hopes to team with fellow attacker Kevin Hussey (36 goals in 2019) to form a potent tandem. Seniors Jon Lippert and Tristan Gosselin will look to solidify the midfield unit. Nazareth looks to get back to the level of play that has characterized their program for the better part of three decades. The Golden Flyers won Division III National Championships in 1992, 1996 and 1997.
Alfred
Alfred returns 26 players, including eight starters from last season’s squad that won eight games. Senior face-off specialist Garrette Briggs returns after finishing second in all of Division III, winning 77.6 percent of his draws taken. He is a three-time All-Empire 8 selection. In addition, junior attack Cale Donegan is back after earning All-Empire 8 second team honors on the strength of team-leading totals of 44 goals, 28 assists and 72 points. Senior defender Shane Weber, an All-Empire 8 second team pick is back, while goalkeeper Gage Ponsetti will be expected to take charge and lead the way.
Utica
The Pioneers return their lone all-conference selection in rising sophomore Kevin Parisi, and also their Sportsman of the Year team selection, faceoff man Jared Smaldon. The entire starting attack unit returns except for John Hanlon, and the defensive crew of Tyler Crouse, Nick Alexander, and Parisi should be one of the better young long pole groups in the region. The team will have to come up with viable replacements in a midfield that will be younger after graduating Craig DiSanto, Tyler Giachinta, and Nick Horne
.
Sage
Sage will look to challenge for a postseason berth after winning eight games in 2019. The Gators return 15 players, including sophomore Robert Martin, who led the team in scoring with 53 points on 19 goals and 34 assists. Sage is looking for even more success from classmates Shea Obado, a midfielder, long stick midfielder Anthony Rafferty and goalkeeper Michael Capitelli. Newcomers Anthony Abreu, an attack and midfielder Aaron Heyman will look to contribute immediately.
Elmira
Elmira returns its top-five point-scorers and a strong defensive nucleus from last season’s team. Sophomore Sam Shaw led the Soaring Eagles in scoring last season with 24 goals, while senior James Mayer is back after hitting the back of the net 15 times. Goalkeeper Jacob Mattice, a junior, led the Empire 8 by a wide margin with 252 saves in 2019 and will lead the defensive unit. Long stick midfielder Cam Brickey is back for his final season after recording team-high totals of 79 ground balls and 42 caused turnovers in 2019. Newcomers Rafael Joseph, Sam Crary and Ryan Durkee will contribute right away.
Houghton
The Highlanders return 13 players and seven starters from last season’s team that won four contests. Junior attack Nathan Anderson will lead the way for Houghton after tallying 55 points on 34 goals and 21 assists to go along with 70 ground balls and 20 caused turnovers. Classmate Jonathan Mayer is back after recording 30 goals and 47 points in 2019. The Highlanders have a solid duo of defenders in senior Tom Woodward and junior Titus Snavely. Woodward had 77 ground balls and 49 caused turnovers, while Snavely added 27 caused turnovers. Houghton adds talented newcomers Austin Andryshak, Kyle Diamond and Joel Bean.
Final 2019 Empire 8 Men’s Lacrosse Standings
Stevens (16-3, 8-0 Empire 8) *
St. John Fisher (17-3, 7-1 Empire 8) – League Champions
Hartwick (10-5, 6-2 E8)
Nazareth (7-11, 5-3 E8)
Alfred (8-7, 4-4 E8)
Utica (7-9, 3-5 E8)
Sage (8-9, 2-6 E8)
Elmira (3-10, 1-7 E8)
Houghton (4-12, 0-8 E8)
*Stevens moved to the MAC Freedom Conference effective for the 2020 season
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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