Men's Lacrosse | 5/9/2022 10:11:06 AM
St. John Fisher College face-off specialist Joe Post was named Player of the Year, as the Empire 8 Conference announced its 2022 Men’s Lacrosse All-Conference awards on Monday, May 9. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
Post is one of the most decorated face-off specialists in NCAA Division III history, as he holds NCAA career records for face-off wins (1,217) and ground balls (834). Post is enjoying another dominant season at X for the Cardinals, having won a career-best 73 percent of his face-offs taken (280-of-384) with 217 ground balls. He is in the top-five nationally in face-off win percentage and is second in ground balls. Post, a 2021 USILA First Team All-American, is St. John Fisher’s second consecutive E8 Player of the Year honoree.
Dobbins and his staff of assistant coaches Mike Perrino, Mark Rice, Craig Whipple, Jeff Schwartz, Daniel James and Kyle O’Dea led the Cardinals to an undefeated record in regular season league play and their third straight Empire 8 title in 2022. St. John Fisher enters the 2022 NCAA Championship Tournament ranked No. 4 in the USILA Division III Men’s Lacrosse poll with an 15-2 record, having outscored opponents, 344-138. Dobbins and his staff earned E8 Coaching Staff of the Year honors for the second straight season.
Senior Scott Kimecik of Alfred University was named the 2022 Empire 8 Goalkeeper of the Year. He finished 10-5 on the season with a 9.98 goals against average and a .568 save percentage for the Saxons in 2022. Kimecik allowed five goals or less in a game seven times this season and had seven games with at least 12 saves. He is the first Alfred student-athlete to be named E8 Goalkeeper of the Year.
Nazareth College’s Matt Keane was named Empire 8 Rookie of the Year. He appeared in all 17 games for the Golden Flyers in 2022 as their face-off specialist, winning 56.1 percent of his draws (240-of-428) at X, while collecting a team-high 133 ground balls. Keane is Nazareth’s seventh different E8 Rookie of the Year in program history.
Empire 8 Champion St. John Fisher led all institutions with nine first team selections apiece, while Nazareth had four picks and Alfred had one. Overall, St. John Fisher had 15 all-conference selections. Post and St. John Fisher teammates Ian Evans, Nicholas Miller and Jack Mulvihill were named All-Empire 8 first team selections for the third time. Kimecik, along with Griffin Randall and Jon Roth of Nazareth, along with Kyle Rochester and Roger Panara of St. John Fisher earned first team accolades for the second straight season.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2022 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.
2022 Empire 8 Men’s Lacrosse All-Conference Selections
Player of the Year: Joe Post, Gr., F/O, St. John Fisher
Goalkeeper of the Year: Scott Kimiecik, Sr., GK, Alfred
Rookie of the Year: Matt Keane, Fr., F/O, Nazareth
Coaching Staff of the Year: St. John Fisher, led by Head Coach Dave Dobbins
Empire 8 First Team
Quinn McKercher, So., A, Nazareth
Brett Randall, Gr., A, Nazareth
Ian Evans, Sr., A, St. John Fisher
Nicholas Miller, Gr., A, St. John Fisher
John Roth, Sr., M, Nazareth
Jordan DePetres, Sr., M, St. John Fisher
Jack Mulvihill, Gr., M, St. John Fisher
Griffin Randall, Sr., D, Nazareth
Brian Jantz, Jr., D, St. John Fisher
Kyle Rochester, Sr., D, St. John Fisher
Roger Panara, Gr., LSM, St. John Fisher
Matt Jeffries, Gr., SSD, St. John Fisher
Joe Post, Gr., F/O, St. John Fisher
Scott Kimiecik, Sr., GK, Alfred
Empire 8 Second Team
Paul Forte, Jr., A, Alfred
Braeden McKercher, Jr., A, Nazareth
Hunter Brunelle, Gr., A, Russell Sage
John Avery, Sr., A, Utica
Josh Hauman, So., M, Alfred
Jeremy Jacob, Gr., M, Nazareth
Tucker O’Donnell, Sr., M, St. John Fisher
Jeremiah Kinner, Sr., D, Alfred
Nick Cacciola, So., D, Hartwick
Kevin Parisi, Sr., D, Utica
Sean O’Brian, Fr., LSM, Nazareth
Tate Martinez, Sr., SSD, Nazareth
Matt Keane, Fr., F/O, Nazareth
Ben Hammond, So., GK, St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Third Team
Drew Cartwright, Jr., A, Alfred
Bailey Martin, Sr., A, Russell Sage
Matthew Kemmis, So., A, St. John Fisher
Brennan O’Brien, Gr., A, St. John Fisher
Justin Mosher, Jr., M, Alfred
Seth Spurgeon, Sr., M, Keuka
Connor Costanza, Fr., M, Utica
Joe Johnson, Fr., D, Russell Sage
Matthew Delaney, Sr., D, St. John Fisher
Ethan Brown, So., D, Utica
Shane Cubala, Fr., LSM, Alfred
Caleb DuBois, Gr., SSD, Alfred
Logan Grom, So., F/O, St. John Fisher
Eric Almquist, Sr., GK, Nazareth
Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year
Kaelan Winkky, Sr., M, Alfred
Tyler Rivera, Sr., D, Hartwick
Will York, Sr., A, Keuka
Jon Parrinello, Sr., M, Nazareth
Bailey Martin, Sr., A, Russell Sage
Domenic Delvecchio, Gr., M, St. John Fisher
Jack O’Shaughnessy, Gr., M, 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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