Men's Lacrosse | 5/10/2021 9:58:59 AM
St. John Fisher College attack Ian Evans was named Offensive Player of the Year, teammate Darin Eakins earned Goalie of the Year honors and Dave Dobbins and his staff from St. John Fisher was named E8 Coaching Staff of the Year, as the Empire 8 Conference announced its 2021 Men’s Lacrosse All-Conference awards on Monday, May 10. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
Evans, who was previously the 2019 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, is now a two-time All-E8 first team pick. In 14 games this season, Evans, a junior, leads the Cardinals in scoring with 61 points on 39 goals and 22 assists to go along with 35 ground balls. Evans has at least two points in all 14 games this season and seven different contests with five points. He has 99 career goals and 172 points in 39 contests. Evans is St. John Fisher’s first Player of the Year honoree.
Eakins, who was the 2019 Empire 8 Tournament Most Valuable Player, is 11-3 with a 10.11 goals against average and a .512 save percentage. Eakins, a graduate student, has double-digit saves in seven of 14 games this season. He has a 27-6 record since the start of the 2019 season and is St. John Fisher’s second Goalkeeper of the Year award winner.
Dobbins and his staff of assistant coaches Tristan Dougherty, Mark Rice, Craig Whipple, Randy Garrett, Jeff Schwartz, Daniel James and Kyle O’Dea led the Cardinals to an undefeated record in regular season league play and their second straight Empire 8 title in 2021. St. John Fisher enters the 2021 NCAA Championship Tournament ranked No. 11 in the USILA Division III Men’s Lacrosse poll with an 11-3 record. It is the first time that Dobbins and his staff earned E8 Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
Nazareth College’s Quinn McKercher was named Empire 8 Rookie of the Year. He appeared in all 11 games for the Golden Flyers in 2021, recording 20 goals and 29 points in 11 games. McKercher recorded three different games with at least five points, including a season-high six goals in a win over Oswego on April 12. McKercher is Nazareth’s sixth different E8 Rookie of the Year in program history.
Empire 8 Champion St. John Fisher led all institutions with eight first team selections apiece, while Nazareth had five picks and Alfred had three. Overall, St. John Fisher had 11 all-conference selections. Evans and St. John Fisher teammates Nicholas Miller, Jack Mulvihill, Joe Post, along with Alfred University’s Shane Weber were named All-Empire 8 first team selections for the second time.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2021 Empire 8 Men’s Lacrosse Sportsman of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen.
2021 Empire 8 Men’s Lacrosse All-Conference Selections
Player of the Year: Ian Evans, Jr., A, St. John Fisher
Goalie of the Year: Darin Eakins, Gr., GK, St. John Fisher
Rookie of the Year: Quinn McKercher, Fr., A, Nazareth
Coaching Staff of the Year: St. John Fisher, led by Head Coach Dave Dobbins
Empire 8 First Team
Paul Forte, So., A, Alfred
Jeremy Jacob, Sr., A, Nazareth
Ian Evans, Jr., A, St. John Fisher
Nicholas Miller, Sr., A, St. John Fisher
John Roth, Jr., M, Nazareth
Jack Mulvihill, Sr., M, St. John Fisher
Tucker O’Donnell, Jr., M, St. John Fisher
Shane Weber, Gr., D, Alfred
Carter Conrad, Sr., D, Nazareth
Griffin Randall, Jr., D, Nazareth
Kyle Rochester, Jr., D, St. John Fisher
Roger Panara, Sr., LSM, St. John Fisher
Owen Gonzalez, Sr., SSD, Nazareth
Joe Post, Sr., F/O, St. John Fisher
Scott Kimiecik, Jr., GK, Alfred
Darin Eakins, Gr., GK, St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Second Team
Justin Mosher, Sr., A, Alfred
Quinn McKercher, Fr., A, Nazareth
Clifford Pollard, So., A, Nazareth
John Avery, Jr., A, Utica
Dawson Felenchak, So., M, Alfred
Jon Parrinello, Jr., M, Nazareth
Jordan DePetres, Jr., M, St. John Fisher
Matthew Delaney, Jr., D, St. John Fisher
Kevin Parisi, Jr., D, Utica
Garrette Briggs, Sr., F/O, Alfred
Matt Jeffries, Sr., SSD, St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year
Drew Cartwright, So., A, Alfred
Jared Hurlbutt, Sr., GK, Keuka
David Walk, Sr., GK, Nazareth
Jake Risavi, Sr., A, St. John Fisher
Jacob Hyer, Sr., A, Utica
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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