Field Hockey | 10/31/2022 1:27:56 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on October 31, 2022, for games played from October 24-October 30. It is the ninth 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 and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming and diving and women’s volleyball.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Ethan Billings, St. John Fisher, Jr., Wantage, NJ/High Point Regional
Billings was named the Outstanding Runner of the Meet and individual champion at the 2022 Empire 8 Championship, held at Field of Dreams Course and hosted by Houghton University on Saturday. On a nearly perfect day, Billings used a strong finishing kick over the final 1,000-meters to break away from the lead pack and win by just over six seconds, covering the 8,000-meter course on a time of 25:42.0. It is his second E8 weekly honor of the 2022 season.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Amanda Burrichter, Houghton, Sr., Fillmore, NY/Fillmore
Burrichter was named the Outstanding Runner of the Meet and individual champion at the 2022 Empire 8 Championship on Saturday. Racing at her home Field of Dreams Course in seasonable, sunny conditions, Burrichter pulled away late to win by just under three seconds, covering the 6,000-meter course on a time of 22:55.1. It is her third E8 weekly honor of 2022.
FIELD HOCKEY
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Elzandie Du Plessis, Houghton, Fr., M, Pretoria, South Africa/Hoerskool Garsfontein
Du Plessis scored four goals during the week, netting a pair of tallies in both E8 wins for Houghton to wrap up the regular season. Du Plessis' put two past the Medaille keeper in a 10-1 victory to start the week and then scored two goals in a span of 15 seconds late in regulation to break a 2-2 tie and lift Houghton 4-2 to a win over Washington & Jefferson to wrap up the regular season on Saturday.
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Alyssa Fitzgerald, Russell Sage, Sr., F, Queensbury, NY/Queensbury
Fitzgerald scored all three Russell Sage goals in Saturday's 3-2 overtime win at Elmira, lifting the Gators to their first E8 win of the season. She tied the game at 2-2 with just over five minutes left in regulation and tallied the game-winner 1:30 into overtime.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jordan Nichols, Keuka, So., GK, Deposit, NY/Afton
Nichols continued her strong season as she backstopped a pair of Keuka College victories last week. She recorded her third shutout of the season, making three saves in a win over SUNY Morrisville. Nichols then made seven saves in Keuka's overtime victory over Nazareth College that clinched a postseason berth. For the year, Nichols has 153 saves. It is Nichols’ second E8 weekly honor of the season.
FOOTBALL
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ashton Capone, Cortland, Jr., RB, Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs
Capone, making his first start of the season, ran 47 times for 282 yards, both Cortland single-game records, and scored two touchdowns in the Red Dragons' 31-8 win at Alfred University Saturday. The victory clinched Cortland's second straight Empire 8 title and NCAA tournament automatic berth. Capone ran for a 2-yard score late in the first half to give Cortland a 14-0 lead, and his 5-yard TD run on his final carry with 2:09 remaining gave him the school rushing yardage record, which was previously 281 yards.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ernesto Mitchell, Sr., SUNY Morrisville, Sr., LB, Wheatly Heights, NY/Half Hollow Hills East
Mitchell led the defensive efforts for Morrisville over the weekend, posting a season high 16 tackles, including 11 solo, and 1.5 for a loss of a yard. It is this third E8 weekly honor of the 2022 season.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Giovanni Frisenda, SUNY Brockport, So., DB, Newburgh, NY/Marlboro
Frisenda came up with two big plays for the Brockport defense in a dominant performance over Buffalo State Saturday. He picked off two passes in the opening quarter, running the first back 26 yards. Frisenda then gave the Golden Eagles a 20-0 lead in the first quarter with a 29-yard interception returned for a touchdown. He finished with 55 return yards on two interceptions and three total tackles, including one for a loss.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Brandon Belott, Utica, Sr., P, Rexford, NY/Shenendehowa
Belott punted four times for 192 yards, averaging 48 yards per punt on Saturday. He had two punts over 50 yards and pinned SUNY Morrisville inside its own 20-yard line three times.
MEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Cody Baker-Green, Utica, Jr., M, Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley
Baker-Green continued his tremendous season, netting three goals in two games to give him 13 on the season. Her scored on Wednesday against Russell Sage and tallied a pair of goals on Saturday versus Houghton.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – David Mighten, Medaille, Sr., GK, Nottingham, England/The Westbrigford
Mighten recorded a shutout with seven saves against Russell Sage College on Saturday to help the Mavericks clinch the second seed in the upcoming Empire 8 Tournament. Mighten also added two saves in a 3-1 win over St. John Fisher on Wednesday.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kennedy Jones, Russell Sage, Jr., F, Albany, NY/Albany
Jones netted both game-winning goals in the 2-0 week. Jones, who now has scored the game-winner in three consecutive contests, helped the Gators earn a home E8 playoff game with a goal and an assist in the final 2:04 of Saturday's comeback win at Houghton Saturday.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Courtney Connolly, Utica, Jr., GK, Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley
Connolly made 11 saves in a pair of key E8 contests against Russell Sage and Hartwick. She stopped seven shots on Wednesday versus Russell Sage and made four key stops in a 1-0 win over Hartwick Saturday. The shutout win over Hartwick helped Utica clinch an Empire 8 postseason berth.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Phillip Volaski, Alfred, Sr., Backstroke/Individual Medley, Poughquag, NY/Arlington
Volaski helped the Saxons defeat the defending Empire 8 Champions, Nazareth College in dual-meet action over the weekend. Volaski had two individual wins and teamed up to help Alfred go 1-2 in the 200-medley relay. He edged teammate Emiliano Terrazas in the 200-yard IM with a time of 2:03.50, winning the event by 0.09 as the two defeated the rest of the pool by almost eight seconds. Volaski clocked a time of 56.79 in the 100-yard backstroke to pick up another win as he bested the other lanes by almost four seconds. Volaski teamed with Wade LaMastus, Piede Giuseppe and R.J. Zellner in the 200-medley relay, combining for a time of 1:44.20.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Amy Barry, Nazareth, So., Sprint Freestyle, North Tonawanda, NY/Mount St. Mary
Barry raced to first-place finishes in both sprint freestyle events over the weekend with a time of 25.93 (50 yards) at Alfred and 28.35 (50 meters) at home against Brockport. She added wins in both relays in the Brockport meet with a 28.30 split in the opening leg of the 200-free relay and also swam the anchor leg of the winning medley relay at Alfred.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Lindsey DeBonis, St. John Fisher, Sr., OH, Scotia, NY/Burnt Hills
Lindsey DeBonis had a double-double in each of her four matches in a 3-1 week for the Cardinals to total, 55 kills and 66 digs. The week started with an impressive 15 kill, 23 dig match for the outside hitter in a five-set win over regionally-ranked against Brockport. Against Fredonia, DeBonis recorded a .353 hitting percentage with 14 kills and added 13 digs. On Saturday, in matches against Buffalo State and University of Rochester, she recorded 10 and 16 kills respectively and 14 and 16 digs respectively.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Kiera Hartpence, St. John Fisher, Fr., L/DS, Scotia, NY/Burnt Hills
Hartpence was a defensive stalwart during the week, playing in all four matches and 16 sets, while recording 71 digs and only three receiving errors. She had 20 digs in the first match of the week in a crucial win over regionally-ranked Brockport and added a season high 23 digs in the regular season finale against the University of Rochester. In the four matches, she tallied 11 assists and five serve aces. It is her second E8 weekly honor of the 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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