General | 9/12/2022 12:48:52 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on September 12, 2022, for games played from September 5-September 11. It is the second 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 Kenyon, Nazareth, So., Brookfield, MA/Tantasqua Regional
Kenyon was second for Nazareth to teammate Nathan Bowers at the Hamilton Short Course Meet on Saturday but clocked a time of 15:54.5 which was good for seventh place overall and shaved nearly a minute off his 5,000-meter personal best time (16:42.6 - set last year at Hamilton). Nazareth finished third overall in the team standings.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Elizabeth Ingellis, Russell Sage, So., Kingston, NY/Kingston
Ingellis won the 6,000-meter event at Saturday's Steven A. Warde Invitational, hosted by SUNY Cobleskill, with a time of 24:54.36. She recorded a mile rate of 6:40.8 and won the race by nearly 40 seconds.
FIELD HOCKEY
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Hailey Wachowiak, Washington & Jefferson, Jr., F, Wesford, PA/North Allegheny
Wachowiak tallied two goals and two assists last week for the Presidents. She registered two goals and an assist in a 5-0 shutout win Saturday versus Elmira in the Empire 8 opener for both teams. Wachowiak added an assist in a 3-2 loss to Kenyon on Thursday.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Mackenzie Halliday, Nazareth, Fr., GK, Cazenovia, NY/Cazenovia
Halliday made 40 saves in two games last week including a career-best 24 saves in a 2-1 loss to SUNY Brockport for a sparkling .923 save percentage. She added 16 saves in the weekend loss to Skidmore. Overall, she recorded an .833 save percentage over the two starts.
FOOTBALL
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Cole Burgess, Cortland, Jr., WR, Greenwich, NY/Greenwich
Burgess tied a Cortland single-game record with three touchdown catches in the Red Dragons' 63-7 win over visiting The College of New Jersey on Saturday. He caught 28-yard and 65-yard TD passes in the first quarter to help Cortland take an early 20-0 lead and added a 29-yard TD reception late in the first half. He finished the game with four receptions for 140 yards.
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Darviae Gray, Alfred, So., WR, Buffalo, NY/Amherst Central
Gray recorded three collegiate career-highs (receiving yards, longest reception and touchdowns) in a high-scoring loss to Mount St. Joseph on Saturday. Gray caught six passes 167 yards, with a career-long reception of 69 yards and two touchdowns. He averaged 27.8 yards per catch.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Joshua Cordero, Cortland, Sr., CB, Monroe, NY/Monroe-Woodbury
Cordero tied a Cortland single-game record with three interceptions in the Red Dragons' 63-7 win over The College of New Jersey. The feat was last accomplished by a Cortland player in 1995. Cordero's three picks all came in the first half, including a 47-yard return for a touchdown early in the second quarter. All three of his interceptions either resulted in or set up Cortland scores. Cordero also finished the game with four solo tackles and a pass breakup.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Dante McGowan, Morrisville, So., DB, Rochester, NY/Wilson
McGowan created havoc for visiting No. 23 Hobart Saturday, contributing to the Morrisville’s 24-13 win with his effort on special teams as well as on the defensive side of the ball. McGowan contributed to the special teams scoring with his fumble recovery of a muffed punt return in the end zone for a touchdown, increasing the Mustang lead to 21-3 in the second quarter. He also registered seven total tackles, posted a pass break-up and interception return for 39 yards in the win.
MEN’S GOLF
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ben Tubbs, Medaille, So., Painted Post, NY/Corning-Painted Post
Tubbs was the overall individual winner at the Medaille Invitational from Diamond Hawk Golf Course on Wednesday, shooting a 78 (6-over) par. This was his best outing at his home course in his career. His low score helped leads the Mavs to a second place finish.
MEN’S SOCCER
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ander Castillo, Medaille, So., F, Bilbao, Spain/Mater Dei Catholic
Castillo continued his torrid pace to open the 2022 season, scoring five goals on 10 shots on goal with one assist in two games at the Bryan Karl Tournament hosted by Alfred University. Against Penn State Harrisburg on Saturday, he scored two goals with four shots on goal and one assist. He followed that up with his second hat-trick of the season against Bryant & Stratton on Sunday afternoon. Castillo, who is now a two-time E8 Offensive Player of the Week, has nine goals and 20 points in four games this season.
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Martin Harguindey, Elmira, Fr., F, Ituzaingo, Argentina/Velez Sarsfield
Harguindey scored his first collegiate hat trick to lead the Soaring Eagles to a 3-0 win over visiting Keystone College on Saturday afternoon. His first goal came 10 minutes into play when teammate Gavin Wise sent a quick pass over the top of the defense and Harguindey was able to reach the ball before the goalkeeper and poked it him with his right foot. In the 21st minute, he netted his second, this time finding himself alone at the top of the penalty area with one defender to beat. He faked a shot left, cut back to the right, evaded another defender that tracked back and then scored it with his right foot about 15 yards out. Harguindey completed the hat trick in the 52nd minute after getting taken out inside the box. He stepped to the penalty spot and calmly put it past the keeper.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jadon Schlierf, St. John Fisher, Jr., GK, Rochester, NY/Spencerport
Schlierf helped lead St. John Fisher to a 1-0-1 record with a pair of shutouts. On Wednesday, Schlierf made four saves in a scoreless draw against SUNY Brockport and pitched a shutout in a 2-0 win over Ithaca on Friday evening.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Rylee Lamphere, Utica, Fr., M, Little Falls, NY/Dolgeville
Lamphere was responsible for both Utica goals this weekend as the team played a pair of games at the Blue Devil Clarion Classic hosted by Fredonia. Lamphere brought the team back from a first half 2-0 deficit on Friday against Fredonia with scores in the 66th and 70th minutes. For the game and over both days at Fredonia, Lamphere's only two shot attempts were her goals.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Katelyn Odorizzi, Russell Sage, Fr., D, Voorheesville, NY/Clayton A. Bouton
Odorizzi registered three points on a goal and an assist, while solidifying the Russell Sage defense unit in a 1-0-1 week. On Saturday, Odorizzi tallied a goal and an assist in a 3-0 win over Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. She assisted on Kennedy Jones’ game-winning goal in the 27th minute and tallied in the 49th minute.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Alina Zabihailo, Alfred, Fr., Kyiv, Ukraine/Educational Complex #143
Zabihailo helped the Saxons to their first 3-0 season start since the 2008 season as Alfred swept Pitt. -Bradford. Zabihailo was undefeated in the match, teaming with Macy Youngberg for an 8-0 win at No. 1 doubles and then winning No. 1 singles, 6-3, 6-0. She closed out her week by winning the A-bracket of the Grove City Tournament. She defeated Division II Clarion’s Alexis Strouse, 6-4, 6-3 in the semi-finals before winning the championship singles round of the A-bracket over Grove City’s Lexi Chappel, 6-4, 6-4. Zabihailo teamed with Youngberg in doubles, winning the opening round 8-1 over Thiel College before dropping the Round 2 match to Grove City, 8-4.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kaileigh Brandow, Hartwick, Jr., OH, Manorville, NY/Eastport South Manor
Brandow helped the Hawks go 3-0 on the weekend. She recorded 32 kills and 39 points to go along with 21 digs across nine sets played. She finished the weekend with a team-high 14 kills and six digs against Albertus Magnus on Saturday. In addition, Brandow hit .421 with nine kills, six digs, two aces and two blocks in a win over St. Joseph’s.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Haley Unverdorben, Houghton, Gr., S, Portville, NY/Portville
Unverdorben averaged 28.5 assists, 9.5 digs, 4.5 service aces and 3.0 kills per match, while hitting .545 to help the Highlanders earn two three-set sweeps Hilbert and Alfred State last week. She started the week with 31 assists, eight digs and five service aces on Tuesday and added 26 assists, 11 digs, four aces and four kills against Alfred State.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Kayla Hartpence, St. John Fisher, Fr., L/DS, Ballston Lake, NY/Burnt Hills
Hartpence was impressive over the weekend as St. John Fisher traveled to Geneseo for a tri-match against the Knights and Heidelberg. In the first match of the day, Hartpence recorded 17 digs and four assists as the team won 3-0. The following match, she added 13 digs and four more assists.
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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