Women's Lacrosse | 2/17/2022 1:00:00 PM
St. John Fisher will look for its tenth straight Empire 8 title, as seven teams will battle for the 2022 E8 Championship. The upcoming season gets underway with Nazareth playing a non-league contest on February 23, as league play begins on April 2. The top four teams will advance to the Empire 8 Championship Tournament, which will take place from May 7-8. The Empire 8 Champion will receive an automatic berth into the 2022 NCAA Division III Women’s Lacrosse Championship.
Fans can watch the action all season long, free of charge on the
Empire 8 Network.
Players to Watch
Sydney DeGirolamo, St. John Fisher, Sr., M, Manlius, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius – DeGirolamo was named the 2022 USA Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Attacker of the Year after earning Empire 8 Player of the Year and IWLCA First Team All-American accolades last season. She tallied 78 points and led all of Division III with 155 draw controls.
Madeline Greene, Keuka, Jr., M, Irondequoit, NY/Irondequoit – Greene earned All-Empire 8 third team accolades in 2021 after recording 10 goals and 13 points.
Alexandra Queeney, Russell Sage, So., A, Johnstown, NY/Johnstown – Queeney tallied 16 goals and 21 assists in nine games during her rookie season of 2021.
Lexi Scaccia, Utica, Gr., A/M, Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro – Scaccia earned All-Empire 8 first team honors and IWLCA All-Region accolades last season after recording 62 points on 42 goals and 20 assists.
Emily Schaub, Hartwick, Sr., A, Brewster, NY/Brewster – Schaub is expected to lead the Hartwick offense after scoring 17 goals last season.
Emma States, Nazareth, Jr., A, Phoenix, NY/C.W. Baker – States earned All-Empire 8 first team honors and IWLCA All-Region second team accolades in 2021 after recording 37 goals and 48 points.
Brenna Turner, Alfred, Jr., A, Bentonville, AR/Bentonville – Turner earned All-Empire 8 third team accolades in 2021 after scoring 21 goals and adding 20 draw controls in six games for the Saxons.
Team Capsules (Sorted by Spring 2021 Standings)
St. John Fisher
St. John Fisher will look to win its tenth straight league championship in 2022. The Cardinals are coming off a perhaps their best season in program history in 2021, advancing to the NCAA National Semifinal, while finishing 18-2 overall. The Cardinals open the season ranked third in the 2022 IWLCA Division III Preseason Women’s Lacrosse poll. Senior Sydney DeGirolamo was named the 2022 USA Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Attacker of the Year after earning Empire 8 Player of the Year and IWLCA First Team All-American accolades last season. She tallied 37 goals, 41 assists and 78 points and led all of Division III with 155 draw controls. Classmate Brittany Halpin is a 2022 IWLCA Preseason All-American after recording 49 goals and 67 points last season. Defender Shannon Foster was the 2021 Empire 8 Co-Rookie of the Year. St. John Fisher has won 29 straight games against Empire 8 opponents dating back to the 2018 season. The Cardinals are 148-36 since head coach Linda Michele took over in 2012.
Nazareth
The Golden Flyers look to challenge for the Empire 8 title in 2022 and are seeking their first league crown since 2006. Emma States, Emma Parry and Katie Lawrence each made first-team all-conference and were second-team Empire Region selections in 2021. States led the Golden Flyers in scoring with 37 goals and 48 points, while Parry emerged as a top defender. Lawrence was the Empire 8 Goalkeeper of the Year after recording an 8.97 goals against average. In addition, sophomore Eleanor Matz was the 2021 Empire 8 Co-Rookie of the Year. The Golden Flyers will need to replace six all-conference selections from 2021 but have a strong group of newcomers, including Reva Mussi, Grace Seither and Julia Dietz.
Utica
The Pioneers return 23 players and nine starters from last season’s team that finished 9-6 overall and advanced to the Empire 8 Semifinals. Senior Lexi Scaccia tallied 42 goals, 20 assists and 62 points to earn All-Empire 8 first team accolades and All-Region honors. Junior Samantha DeCondo garnered All-Empire 8 second team honors in 2021 after finishing right behind Scaccia in scoring with 41 goals. Graduate student Sydney Scaccia, older sister of Lexi and sophomore Aana Blaszka lead an experienced group on defense. Both earned All-Empire 8 second team honors in 2021. Senior goalkeeper Claire Frier returns after earning All-Empire 8 third team accolades.
Hartwick
Hartwick enters the 2022 season eager to improve on last season’s trip to the Empire 8 Semifinals. Hartwick won its first postseason game since 2004 last season. Hartwick will have a new look in 2022 with 11 first-year players and will look to replace its top three scorers in 2021, GinaMarie Wilson, Rachel Hedden and Amy Tracy. Sophomore midfielder Claudia Pollaro returns after earning All-Empire 8 second team accolades last season. In addition, senior Emily Schaub returns after scoring 17 goals last season.
Russell Sage
Russell Sage is looking to earn its second straight Empire 8 postseason berth in 2022. The Gators will have a new look behind the bench, as Alyssa Treanor takes over as head coach. Russell Sage has eight players from last season’s team return, including senior defender Alexandra Lettre, juniors Samantha Shafer and Caroline Musinski and sophomore Alexandra Queeney. Queeney tallied 16 goals and 21 points in 2021, while Shafer had 14 goals and 19 assists and Musinski was right behind with 13 goals and 18 assists.
Keuka
Keuka advanced the Empire 8 Tournament in its conference debut in 2021. Head Coach Kelly Orr returns for her second stint at Keuka after compiling a 52-11 record from 2011-14, winning three NEAC championships. Her time at Keuka sandwiched a stint as the head coach at SUNY Cortland. She led the Red Dragons to a national championship and was named National Coach of the Year in 2015. Junior Madeline Greene, along with Sadie Bonetti and Trinity Burton will be counted on to lead the Wolves in 2022. Greene was a 2021 All-Empire 8 third team selection.
Alfred
The Saxons of Alfred University will look for improvement in 2022. Third-year attack Brenna Turner, along with Alyssa Piechota and Cecilia Sherwood will look to emerge as team leaders. Turner earned All-Empire 8 third team accolades last season after scoring 21 goals in six games. First-year standouts Amelia Booth and Hailey Stroh are expected to step right in and see plenty of playing time.
Final 2021 Empire 8 Women’s Lacrosse Standings
St. John Fisher (18-2, 7-0 Empire 8) – League Champions
Nazareth (7-6, 5-1 E8)
Utica (9-6, 4-2 E8)
Hartwick (3-4, 2-3 E8)
Russell Sage (3-6, 2-5 E8)
Keuka (1-5, 1-4 E8)
Houghton (1-5, 1-4 E8)
Alfred (1-5, 0-3 E8)
^ Elmira opted out of league play for the 2021 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 and
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