Field Hockey | 3/23/2021 9:58:07 AM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on March 23, 2021 for games played from March 15-March 21. It is the fifth Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2020-21 season.
FIELD HOCKEY
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Leah Tolley, Hartwick, So., M, Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon
Tolley scored the game-winner in double-overtime in Sunday's season opening 1-0 win at Houghton. She deflected Tegan Robinson's bouncing shot past a pair of Highlanders and into the back of the cage with just seconds remaining in the final extra period to lift the Hawks to victory. Tolley ended up with two shots on the day, and also contributed to a Hawks defensive effort that limited Houghton to just five shots (two on target).
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Sofia Gildemeister, Jr., GK, Houghton, NY/Cuba-Rushford
Gildemeister was strong in goal, stopping 10 shots in a double overtime effort versus defending league champion Hartwick to open the season. She made six of her 10 saves in the first half.
MEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Cooper LaValley, Nazareth, Sr., M, Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia
LaValley scored a pair of goals in his first collegiate game as Nazareth opened the season with a 3-0 victory at Alfred Sunday. LaValley tallied his first collegiate goal in the 21st minute and struck again in the 66th minute to lead the Golden Flyers.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Trevor Clark, Nazareth, Fr., GK, Fillmore, NY/Fillmore
Clark made his first career start, was credited with a save and made several key plays to earn the shutout victory in Nazareth’s 3-0 win over Alfred on Sunday.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Hallie Klosterman, Russell Sage, Jr., F, Modena, NY/Walkill
Klosterman exploded for three second half goals in a span of 12:28 to help the Gators erase a 2-0 deficit and earn their first-ever win over St. John Fisher on Sunday. Klosterman scored just 16 seconds into the second half and followed that up with a goal 51 seconds later. She completed the hat-trick off a direct kick in the 58th minute.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Lauren Begy, Nazareth, Sr., M, Rochester, NY/Aquinas
Begy led a Nazareth defensive unit that allowed just five total shots and two shots on goal in a pair of Empire 8 wins over Houghton and Utica. The Golden Flyers won both games by a combined score of 8-1 to start 2-0 in league play.
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Grant Stokoe, St. John Fisher, Jr., Distance, Cortland, NY/Homer
Stokoe was named Empire 8 Championship Indoor Track Athlete of the Meet after winning the 800-meters, mile run and 3,000-meters in leading the Cardinals to their second straight team title on March 20. Stokoe opened the day by using a late burst to win the the mile by 13 one-hundredths of a second in a time of 4:28.39. Stokoe used a strong late kick to earn a win in the 800-meters for the second straight season by just under a second in 2:02.02 and came back moments later to once again rally over the final 100-meters to win the 3,000-meters in a time of 9:05.73.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Kyle Rollins, Sr., Sprints/Jumps, Groveland, NY/Geneseo
Rollins won his third straight Empire 8 Field Athlete of the Meet honor, winning all three jump events on the day in leading the Cardinals to their second straight E8 title on March 20. Rollins began the day by winning his second long jump title with a leap of 6.76 meters. He then secured his third triple jump championship in four seasons with a jump of 13.82 meters and closed out the meet by winning his fourth consecutive E8 high jump title, clearing 1.86 meters. Rollins also finished second in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.39 seconds, which is among the fastest in Division III this season.
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Brenna Johnson, Nazareth, Jr., Sprints, Cortland, NY/Homer
Johnson was named 2021 Empire 8 Indoor Track and Field Championship Track Athlete of the Meet after winning three individual events (60-meters, 200-meters and 400-meters) and was part of the winning 4x400-meter relay team on March 19. She won the 60-meters in 8.06 seconds, 200-meters in 27.35 seconds and 400-meters in 1:01.56 in leading Nazareth to runner-up honors.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Jordan Lehman, St. John Fisher, Sr., Throws, Port Leyden, NY/South Lewis
Lehman garnered Empire 8 Indoor Track and Field Championship Field Athlete of the Meet accolades after finishing second in both the weight throw (14.58 meters) and shot put (11.54 meters) on March 19. She gained 16 key points for the Cardinals, who won their second consecutive team title by two points over Nazareth.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Eleanor Cepiel, Utica, So., OH, West Sand Lake, NY/Holy Names
Cepiel had an incredible season debut, slamming 22 kills to go along with 25 digs, while hitting .286 to propel the Pioneers to their first 1-0 start in five years in a four-set win over Russell Sage. Cepiel added ten digs on Sunday at Alfred.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Honor Edmands, Alfred, Fr., MB, Reno, NV/Reno
Edmands established herself as the point-leader for the Saxons as she scored 33.0 points in a 2-1 week. She slammed 29 kills, added four block assists, one solo block and one service ace. She also chipped in six digs on the week. Edmands ended the week with a hitting percentage of .228 on 79 attack attempts.
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.
EMPIRE 8 SOCIAL MEDIA
YouTube –
Facebook –
Twitter –
Instagram