Field Hockey | 10/25/2021 12:56:22 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on October 25, 2021, for games played from October 18-October 24. It is the eighth Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2021-22 season. Sports featured include men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming and diving and women’s volleyball.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Michael Roberts, Utica, So., Remsen, NY/Remsen
Roberts earned a 14th place finish with a time of 17:00 over 5,000-meters at Saturday's Hamilton Short Course Tune Up Meet. His efforts led the way for Utica to pick up an eighth place team finish. It is Roberts’ second weekly honor of 2021.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Jade Dening, Utica, Fr., Remsen, NY/Remsen
Dening put together an impressive outing with a top-five finish at Saturday's Hamilton Short Course Tune Up Meet. She placed fifth with a time of 15:47 over 4,000-meters and was just 33 seconds off the lead in a talented field. It is Dening’s second weekly honor of 2021.
FIELD HOCKEY
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Sabrina Whitehouse, Utica, Gr., F, Greenwich, NY/Greenwich
Whitehouse totaled 11 points in two games for the Pioneers. Whitehouse scored a goal and added an assist versus Hartwick on Wednesday. She recorded her third hat-trick of the season, tallying eight points on three goals and two assists in an 8-2 win over Houghton on Saturday. Whitehouse leads the Empire 8 with 15 goals and is tied for the league lead with 35 points in just 12 games this season. It is her third E8 weekly honor of 2021.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ashlee Billert, Russell Sage, Sr., D, Bennington, VT/Mount Anthony Union
Billert scored the eventual game-winner with 3:27 remaining as the Gators defeated visiting Keuka 3-2 on Saturday. She also totaled four defensive saves in the league win.
FOOTBALL
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Derek Cruz, Cortland, Sr., WR, Oceanside, NY/Oceanside
Cruz registered a career-high 11 receptions for 110 yards and two touchdowns in Cortland's 45-0 win over Utica Saturday. His 11 catches are the most by a Cortland player since the 2016 season. His 2-yard touchdown catch gave the Red Dragons a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, and he added another 2-yard scoring grab late in the second quarter to put Cortland up 24-0 at halftime.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Paul Imperiale, Cortland, Sr., LB, East Meadow, NY/East Meadow
Imperiale made a team-high nine tackles, recorded an interception and broke up a pass in Cortland's 45-0 win over Utica. It was the Red Dragons' first shutout since the 2019 season opener. Cortland held the Pioneers to 82 yards of total offense (1.8 yards per play) in the win, as the No. 16 Red Dragons improved to 7-0 in 2021.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Nate Wigent, Brockport, Fr., K, Fairport, NY/Fairport
Wigent totaled 11 points as the Golden Eagles cruised past Hartwick 41-14 in Empire 8 Conference play on Saturday. He drilled a pair of field goal attempts and was a perfect 5-for-5 on extra point attempts. Wigent also had eight kickoffs for a total of 398 yards and an average of 49.8 yards per kickoff. Wigent leads the Empire 8 and ranks 11th nationally with an average of 1.14 field goals per game. He also leads the league and ranks 19th nationally by converting on 80 percent of his attempted field goals in 2021.
MEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Lutho Mlunguza, Elmira, Jr., F, Cape Town, South Africa/Wynberg Boys School
Mlunguza tallied four goals on the week as Elmira went 2-0 with wins against Penn College and Keuka. He scored a goal in Elmira’s win versus Penn College Wednesday. On Saturday, Mlunguza tallied three first-half goals for the hat-trick, including the eventual game-winner in Elmira’s 4-2 win over Keuka Saturday.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Foti Xidias, Utica, So., GK, Carteret, NJ/Carteret
Xidias was flawless in a 2-0 week for the Pioneers, recording a pair of clean sheets over Empire 8 opponents in helping Utica clinch a postseason berth. He finished with a total of 11 saves in a 3-0 victory over Keuka and 2-0 win over Russell Sage. It is Xidias’ second E8 weekly honor of 2021.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Sydney Moss, Nazareth, Sr., F, Mooresville, NC/Lake Norman
Moss scored a goal in each game during the week, as Nazareth defeated St. John Fisher 3-1 on Wednesday and Hartwick 1-0 on Saturday to clinch the 2021 Empire 8 Regular Season Championship and upcoming seed in the 2021 E8 Women’s Soccer Tournament. She has scored goals in four of the last five games, all in E8 play.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Hannah Fuller, Alfred, Jr., GK, Binghamton, NY/Chenango Forks
Fuller recorded her sixth shutout of the year as she made four saves in a 3-0 blanking of Houghton on Wednesday and followed that up by making five saves in a 1-1 tie against St. John Fisher Saturday evening. It is her second consecutive E8 weekly honor of 2021.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Michael Schultz, Hartwick, So., Freestyle/Butterfly/Individual Medley/Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley
Schultz went four-for-four in Saturday's quad meet sweep, as the Hawks picked up their first three wins of the season. He started the meet out by swimming the 50-yard butterfly leg of a 200-yard medley relay win for Hartwick, and later on took first place in the 200-fly (2:03.85), 100-fly (54.24), and 200-yard individual medley (2:06.87).
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Joelle Ocheltree, Hartwick, So., Libertyville, IL/Libertyville
Ocheltree contributed significantly to two Hartwick wins in Saturday's meet, taking first in the 1,000-yard freestyle (11:41.66) and 500-free (5:38.71) in her first collegiate meet. She also picked up a third-place finish in the 200-free (2:10.21) and contributed to a second place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Toria Betelak, Hartwick, Sr., MH, North Syracuse, NY/Liverpool
Betelak put up 30 kills on an impressive .414 attack percentage in Hartwick's three matches last week, all of which were Empire 8 conference victories. She started off the week with 11 kills on a .417 hitting percentage in Wednesday's win at Russell Sage, also contributing six digs, a block, and an ace. She then added in nine kills with zero attack errors on just 11 swings for an amazing .818 attack percentage in Friday's Senior Night sweep of Elmira. Betelak also had four aces, six digs, and three blocks in the victory over the Soaring Eagles. She rounded out her week with 10 more kills in a five-set win at Alfred, adding in three more blocks.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Alea Steigerwald, St. John Fisher, Sr., OH, Penfield, NY/Penfield
Steigerwald helped Fisher clinch its third straight Empire 8 Regular Season Championship last week behind three wins in league play. Overall, Steigerwald accounted for 45 kills in 10 sets and finished the week hitting .286 with 4.5 kills and 5.4 points per set. Steigerwald added eight service aces and 25 digs. She finished with a game-high 17 kills and 14 digs in a four-set win at Nazareth before adding 13 kills and seven more digs in a sweep of Keuka. She rounded out the week with a team-leading 15 kills and three aces in a sweep of Utica on Saturday. It is her fourth E8 weekly honor of the 2021 season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Tessa Grover, Nazareth, Fr., S/RS, Penfield, NY/Penfield
Grover helped Nazareth to a 2-1 week in league play after slamming 23 kills to go along with 101 assists, three service aces, 17 digs and eight seven blocks, while hitting .426. She had 32 assists and eight kills to open the week versus St. John Fisher. Grover followed that up by hitting .44 with nine kills, 42 assists, two aces and eight digs in a four-set win over Utica Friday. She added 27 assists and six kills, while hitting .500 in a three-set win at Houghton Saturday to earn her fifth E8 weekly honor of 2021.
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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