Field Hockey | 9/20/2021 12:58:04 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on September 20, 2021, for games played from September 13-September 19. It is the third 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 golf, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s tennis and women’s volleyball.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Grant Stokoe, St. John Fisher, Sr., Cortland, NY/Homer
Stokoe finished 14th overall at the University of Rochester Yellowjacket Invitational Saturday and was the second fastest Division III runner. His time of 26:05.7 was just 8.1 seconds behind the winner from SUNY Geneseo and set a new personal best in the 8,000-meter race. It is his second E8 weekly honor of 2021.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Riley Corey, St. John Fisher, Jr., Waterloo, NY/Waterloo
Corey was the second-fastest Division III runner to cross the finish line at the University of Rochester Yellowjacket Invitational on Saturday as her final time of 23:09.8 was a personal best in the 6,000-meter race, coming just a minute and six seconds behind the race's winner from Cornell to take 13th overall. It is her second E8 weekly honor of 2021.
FIELD HOCKEY
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Sabrina Whitehouse, Utica, Gr., F, Greenwich, NY/Greenwich
Whitehouse finished with 11 points in a 2-0 week for Utica. On Wednesday, she had the Pioneers’ first goal in a 4-2 win over Brockport. She followed that up with a career-high four-goal one-assist performance in Utica’s 6-2 win over Keuka Saturday. Whitehouse scored consecutive goals 3:50 apart late in the second quarter, added an assist midway through the third quarter and tallied two more times to tie the Utica record for goals in a game. Her nine points shattered a Utica single-game mark.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Julie Ruzzi, Hartwick, Sr., M, High Falls, MY/Rondout Valley
Ruzzi was an integral part of Hartwick's defensive effort in Saturday's 4-0 home shutout against Manhattanville. Ruzzi cut off attack after attack at the pass to stop the Valiants' offensive effort and send the ball back the other way as the Hawks searched for goals of their own. Manhattanville ended up with just seven shots on the day.
FOOTBALL
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Sonny Badyna, Utica, Jr., QB, Brooklyn, NY/St. Peter’s
Badyna threw for a career-high 368 yards on just 23 passing attempts and four passing touchdowns, while also running for a score, as Utica defeated Western New England 37-28 Saturday to improve to 3-0 on the year. His four touchdown passes covered 39, 51, 23 and 67 yards respectively. Badyna, a two-time E8 Offensive Player of the Week, currently leads the conference with 297 passing yards per game and nine passing touchdowns.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ben Damiani, The College at Brockport, Jr., LB, Lancaster, NY/Lancaster
Damiani posted a season-high eight tackles and 2.5 tackles for a loss while also recording his first interception of the season. He guided a Brockport defense that did not allow an offensive touchdown in Saturday's 16-7 victory at home over Rochester. The Brockport defense held Rochester to just seven first downs and 134 yards of total offense. They limited the Yellowjackets to a time of possession of just 21:47 and a 1-for-13 effort on third down conversions.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Joshua Cordero, SUNY Cortland, Sr., DB, Monroe, NY/Monroe-Woodbury
Cordero blocked a punt that a teammate returned five yards for a score during Cortland's 58-9 win over Buffalo State Saturday. Cordero also deflected a pass on the first play of the second quarter that led to a teammate's interception and 61-yard touchdown return.
MEN’S GOLF
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Matthew McGaugh, St. John Fisher, Gr., Hamilton, NY/Hamilton
McGaugh helped the Cardinals climb four spots on Sunday as the Cardinals finished in ninth place at the competitive Williams College Fall Invitational over the weekend. The graduate student carded an opening round 76 (plus-5) on Saturday before closing out the 36-hole tournament with a second round total of 75 (plus-4). McGaugh tied for 18th on the individual leaderboard at nine-over-par.
MEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Drew Decker, Nazareth, Fr., D, Clifton Park, NY/Christian Brothers Academy
Decker recorded a pair of assists in a 3-0 Empire 8 victory over Alfred to open up Empire 8 play on Saturday. He assisted on second half goals by Cooper LaValley and Colin Brickwood. Decker leads the team with four assists and is third on the team with six points on a goal and four assists.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Cory Gangemi, Keuka, Fr., GK, Marcellus, NY/Marcellus
Gangemi went 1-0-1 during the week with a 0.58 goals against average and a .889 save percentage. He earned the win after playing the first half in a win over Wells on Wednesday. Gangemi followed that up by stopping eight shots in a 1-1 draw versus Hartwick in the Empire 8 opener Saturday.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jacinta Kaminski, Utica, Gr., F, Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent
Kaminski assisted on the tying goal and netted the game-winner in Utica’s 2-1 win over Houghton in the E8 opener on Saturday. Kaminski assisted on Ro Hernandez’s goal in the 51st minute and broke a 1-1 tie with a goal off a rebound in front in the 83rd minute for her second tally of the season.
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Carli Kovarik, St. John Fisher, Sr., F, Liverpool, NY/Liverpool
Kovarik led the Cardinals to non-conference victories with game-winning tallies over the University of Rochester and SUNY Fredonia. St. John Fisher defeated Rochester for the first time since 1983. Kovarik scored Fisher’s second goal in the 24th minute at Rochester and tallied in the 23rd minute for the game’s lone goal versus Fredonia. Kovarik, a two-time E8 Player of the Week this season, leads the league with six goals in 2021.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jessica Pegg, Keuka, Sr., GK, Rochester, NY/Penfield
Pegg made 11 saves in Keuka's 0-0 draw with Hartwick Saturday to open Empire 8 play in her first action of the season. She made five first half saves, four more in the second half and two in overtime. Pegg now has 15 shutouts in 37 career games, and also has another five shared shutouts over that time.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Maddie Cherry, Russell Sage, Fr., Las Vegas, NV/Odyssey Charter
Cherry went 3-0 this week at No. 1 singles as well as 2-1 at the No. 1 doubles and is now 4-0 at No. 1 singles and 3-1 at No. 1 doubles on the fall. Against Utica on Wednesday, Cherry earned a 6-1, 6-1 win at first singles and teamed with her sister Kenedy Cherry for an 8-6 win in doubles. Against Houghton, Cherry picked up a win at No. 1 singles, by a score of 6-1, 6-0. On Sunday against Oswego, she earned a 6-0, 6-0 singles win and teamed with senior Taylor Gillespie for an 8-6 win in doubles play.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Myla Dobson, Hartwick, Sr., MH/RS, Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt-Hills-Ballston Lake
Dobson had double-digit kills in all three Hartwick matches over the weekend, helping the Hawks to a 3-0 record at the Union/Russell Sage Tournament. Hartwick is now 8-1 on the season, the best start through nine games in program history. Dobson averaged 13 kills on a .408 hitting percentage and 2.7 blocks over the three matches, including a career-high 17 kills on an incredible .556 hitting percentage in Saturday's win over host Union.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Darian Ortiz, Alfred, Jr., L/DS, Santa Fe, NM/St. Michael’s
Ortiz was named the 2021 Buffalo State Bengal Challenge Invitational Most Valuable Player after helping the Saxons go undefeated in three matches to claim the Bengal Challenge team title. She stopped an incredible 76 attacks from finding the floor, averaging 25.3 digs per match and 6.9 digs per set. Ortiz tied the Alfred University record for most digs in a five-set match with 38 against the Bengals on Saturday morning. She nearly set the school record for most digs in a three-set match, stopping 24 attacks in the weekend closer against Medaille. She now is averaging 5.53 digs per set which ranks in the top-50 in Division III. Ortiz also added five service aces.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Staecia Silofau, Hartwick, Fr., RS/OH, Kapolei, HI/Maryknoll
Silofau was an integral part of Hartwick's 3-0 weekend at the Union/Russell Sage Tournament, which also saw the Hawks improve to 8-1 on the season, the best start through nine matches in program history. She averaged 10.3 kills, 9.7 digs, and 2.3 blocks over the three matches, including an eight-kill, nine-dig, five-block performance on Saturday against Skidmore and a career-high 17 kills on Saturday against Union (which combined with her 11 digs to provide her first collegiate double-double).
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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