General | 10/10/2022 12:31:48 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on October 10, 2022, for games played from October 3-October 9. It is the sixth Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2022-23 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 – Ethan Billings, St. John Fisher, Jr., Wantage, NJ/High Point Regional
Billings finished second overall at the Highlander Invitational, hosted by Houghton University on Saturday. Billings recorded a time of 25:46.1 over the 8,000-meter course to place second overall and lead the Cardinals to a second place team finish.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Gianna Welker, Utica, Fr., Rome, NY/Oriskany
Welker once again led the way for Utica as she scooped up the runner-up individual finish with an exceptional performance at Westfield State on Saturday. The first year collegiate athlete finished the five kilometer course against a competitive field with a time of 19:00 and averaged a 6:07 mile.
FIELD HOCKEY
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Lindsey Diggan, Washington & Jefferson, Sr., F, Sinking Spring, PA/Governor Mifflin
Diggan totaled four goals last week to guide Washington and Jefferson to a pair of victories. She recorded her first career hat trick during a 6-0 non-conference win over Oberlin on Wednesday. Diggan then added the game-tying goal in a 2-1 win over St. John Fisher Saturday in Empire 8 play.
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Alyssa Pisano, Utica, Jr., M, Hopewell Junction, NY/Arlington
Pisano had a seven-point outing in Utica's 5-0 shutout win over Keuka College on Saturday night. Pisano recorded her second hat-trick of the season with goals in the 29th, 56th and 59th minutes as well as an assist on the team's first goal of the game. Overall, Pisano was 3-for-6 on shot attempts on the night, all of which on goal. It is Pisano’s second E8 weekly accolade of the 2022 season.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Anastasia Godat, Washington & Jefferson, Jr., GK, Baltimore, MD/Concordia Prep School
Godat helped lead the Presidents to a pair of wins last week. Godat recorded six saves in a 2-1 Empire 8 win over St. John Fisher on Saturday. Godat recorded her fourth shutout of the season during a 6-0 win over Oberlin on Tuesday.
FOOTBALL
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Rashad Law, SUNY Brockport, Jr., RB, Cheektowaga, NY/Maryville
Law set new season-highs across the board in the ground game this past weekend. Law rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries against nationally-ranked SUNY Cortland. His longest gain of the day was a 29-yard scamper, as he finished the game averaging 5.9 yards per carry.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Christopher Cox, Alfred, Gr., LB, Rochester, NY/Pittsford-Sutherland
Cox led a Saxon defense that kept Hartwick College out of the endzone in a 21-6 road win on Saturday. He had four solo tackles, but his top play was a 32-yard interception for a touchdown, putting the final stamp on the road win. He also had a kick return for 27 yards.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ernesto Mitchell, SUNY Morrisville, Sr., LB, Wheatley Heights, NY/Half Hollow Hills East
Mitchell led the Mustangs defensive unit with his efforts in Saturday afternoon's win over St. John Fisher, collecting a total 11 tackles on the day as Morrisville held Fisher to just three total points in the E8 contest. Mitchell posted five solo stops, while registering 3.5 tackles for a loss of 22 total yards, including two sacks for a loss of 19 yards. On the final drive attempt by Fisher, Mitchell secured the win by forcing the turnover on downs with a 16-yard sack. It is Mitchell’s second E8 weekly accolade of the 2022 season.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Rashad Tucker, SUNY Cortland, Jr., KR/WR, Freeport, NY/Freeport
Tucker returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown to give Cortland a 21-10 lead midway through the second quarter, and his 48-yard kick return set up a TD drive earlier in the quarter, during the Red Dragons' 42-24 win at Brockport. He finished with three kick returns for 142 yards.
MEN’S GOLF
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Adam Woodmansee, Utica, Jr., Brewerton, NY/Paul V. Moore
Woodmansee earned medalist honors at the SUNY Poly Invitational on Tuesday with a low score of 76. He out-dueled Canton's Adam Szlamczynski over four playoff holes. Both players had chances to convert and put their opponent away, but Woodmansee fired a dart of an approach shot on the fourth playoff opportunity to set up an easy winning putt on the par-5 fourth hole.
MEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Chase Freeland, Alfred, Jr., M, Hornell, NY/Hornell
Freeland had a foot on every Alfred goal this past week, tallying five points two goals and an assist in a pair of draws versus E8 opponents. He started the week by assisting on Christian Moon’s goal against Nazareth College Wednesday finished by scoring both goals in a 2-2 draw against Houghton University on Saturday.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Dante Gesamondo, Medaille, So., GK, Lynnfield, MA/Lynnfield
Gesamondo garnered his second straight E8 weekly honor after allowing just one goal and recording a shutout for the Mavericks in net, as he totaled eight saves in a 1-0-1 week. He made a pair of saves in a scoreless draw versus Buffalo State on Wednesday before making six saves in a 3-1 road win over Hartwick on Saturday.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Olivia Foley, Nazareth, Jr., M, Lancaster, NY/Lancaster
Foley recorded her second consecutive two-goal game and added an assist in Nazareth’s 4-0 win over Medaille on Wednesday. She scored the eventual game winner in the 18th minute, assisted on Alexandra Skoda’s goal in the 29th minute and made it 3-0 Golden Flyers with her second tally of the game less than five minutes into the second half. Foley leads Nazareth with 10 points on the season.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Courtney Connolly, Utica, Jr., GK, Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley
Connolly was solid in goal in a 1-0-1 week for the Pioneers. After not seeing a shot come her way in the team's 4-0 over MCLA on Wednesday while only playing the first half, Connolly recorded her second solo shutout of the year in Saturday's 0-0 draw with Nazareth. In that game, Connolly made 10 saves, her second most in the game this season, including a pair of crucial stops in the 83rd and 88th minutes to preserve the tie.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Annika Monfort, Nazareth, So., GK, Ontario, NY/Webster Thomas
Monfort extended her shutout streak to 367:51 with a pair of clean sheets last week. She recorded three saves in the 4-0 win over Medaille on Wednesday and followed that up by making a season-high 12 saves in the scoreless tie at Utica Saturday. Nazareth has recorded four consecutive shutouts. It is her second straight E8 weekly honor.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Catherine Zak, Nazareth, Fr., Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury
Zak helped Nazareth complete the regular season with three consecutive 9-0 wins in conference play to clinch the No. 2 seed in the Empire 8 Tournament. In Doubles play, she recorded wins of 8-0 and 8-3 in the No. 2 position. In singles, she won matches of 6-0, 6-0; 6-1, 6-1 and 6-0, 6-0 as Nazareth downed Sage, Houghton and Medaille by 9-0 scores on consecutive days (Thursday, Friday and Saturday).
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kaylee Kelly, Nazareth, Sr., OH, Owego, NY/Owego
Kelly recorded a pair of matches with double-digit kills and added 16 digs as Nazareth scored a pair of Empire 8 wins. She had 15 kills and nine digs in the four-set win over Medaille Friday night and then added 12 kills and seven digs in the four-set victory over Houghton Saturday. Her attack percentage for the two matches was .345.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Casey Grange, Alfred, Jr., MB, Ithaca, NY/Ithaca
Grange broke not one, but two Alfred University school records in one of the program’s most impressive come-from-behind wins as the Saxons defeated Elmira College in five sets on Wednesday. She broke the single match, five-set match record for kills with 29 and the five-set record for points with 30.5 as she added an ace and a block assist. Grange also set a collegiate career-high in hitting percentage, only committing eight errors on her 61 attacks. She had double-digit points in all three Empire 8 matches and double-digit digs in all three. It is her second E8 weekly accolade of the 2022 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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