General | 3/20/2023 12:55:47 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on March 20, 2023, for games played from March 13-March 19. It is the 28th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2022-23 season. Sports featured include baseball, softball, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s tennis and men’s volleyball.
BASEBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – James Murphy, St. John Fisher, Jr., 3B, Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna
Murphy went 4-for-6 with a triple, two home runs and five RBI in doubleheader action on Saturday at Elizabethtown. In game one, he was 2-for-3 with a triple. In game two, Murphy exploded for two home runs, while driving in all five of St. John Fisher’s runs. He recorded a .667 batting average and 2.000 slugging percentage in the doubleheader.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Hunter Kendall, Houghton, Sr., P, Gillett, PA/Troy
Kendall earned the win on the mound in Thursday’s 12-2 victory over Hilbert, allowing just six hits and two runs, while striking out five batters over six innings of work.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Kooper Knabe, Utica, Fr., P, Cortland, NY/Cortland
Knabe shined in his second career start in Utica's 5-3 win over University of Maine-Presque Isle last week. He picked up his second win of the season after going six innings allowing two earned runs on five hits while striking out eight hitters and walking just one. It is Knape’s second E8 weekly honor of 2023.
SOFTBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kylie Murray, Utica, So., P/IF, Eastchester, NY/Eastchester
Murray did it all for Utica in a 6-2 week for the Pioneers. In the circle, Murray went 1-1 with two complete games and one save over 17.2 innings, posting a 1.98 ERA, while striking out nine batters. At the plate, Murray batted .458 (11-for-24) with a double, seven runs scored and three runs driven in. She also went 1-for-1 on stolen base opportunities. Murray had at least a hit in six games, including a 4-for-4 effort with a double and two RBI in a win overt Cairn on Tuesday.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Emily Daciw, Nazareth, Sr., P/DP, Angelica, NY/Genesee Valley
Daciw was the top pitcher and one of the top hitters for Nazareth last week as the Golden Flyers had a 4-4 week in Florida. In the circle, she was 3-1 with a 2.42 ERA as she allowed seven earned runs in 26 innings of work with 17 strikeouts and just six walks. In addition, she recorded four complete games. She was also 8-for-20 (.400) with four doubles and seven RBI in six games as the designated player.
MEN’S LACROSSE
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Bailey Martin, Russell Sage, Gr., A, Syracuse, NY/Onondaga Central
Martin totaled 16 points on 12 goals and four assists last week. He established a program record with nine goals in Saturday's win at Saint Joseph's University-Long Island. Martin also added two assists for an 11-point game. He scored the nine goals on just 10 shots in three quarters of action. Martin also tallied three goals and two assists in a win over Mount Saint Vincent on Wednesday.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kevin Matson, Alfred, Jr., A, Chenango Bridge, NY/Chenango Forks
Matson tallied 10 goals and 13 points in a pair of wins, while recording his fourth and fifth games in a row with three or more goals. He recorded career-high totals six goals and seven points in a road win over Lycoming on Wednesday. He was also credited with the game-winning goal during the 18-10 win. Matson added six points in a weekend home win over King’s by scoring four goals and adding two assists in limited action. He also added career-best totals of six ground balls and three caused turnovers in Saturday’s win. It is Matson’s second E8 weekly accolade of the season.
CO-GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Dylan Hoad, Keuka, Sr., G, Bath, NY/Bath-Haverling
Hoad made 14 saves and allowed just five goals in Keuka’s 9-5 victory over Juniata College last week. It was a season-high in saves for Hoad and the .737 save percentage was on the of best outings of his career.
CO-GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Kyle McKee, Hartwick, Sr., G, Wantagh, NY/General Douglas MacArthur
McKee recorded 27 saves across the week while only allowing 10 goals for a sensational .730 save percentage to help the Hawks to a 2-0 record. He posted 10 saves in Hartwick's 12-6 win at Oswego State on Wednesday and followed that up with a 17-save performance in a 16-4 win at Plattsburgh State on Saturday.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kristen Vaccarelli, Hartwick, So., M, Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollow Hills East
Vaccarelli registered 13 goals and 14 points to help the Hawks to a 2-0 week. She started the week by scoring seven goals and tallying one assist in Hartwick's 20-5 win on Wednesday at Bard. Vaccarelli followed that up with a six goal performance on the road at King's on Saturday, helping the Hawks to a dominant 17-2 win. Vaccarelli was also dominant on draw controls, winning 11 overall in two contests, while recording five ground balls and three caused turnovers.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Lilly Goodsell, St. John Fisher, Sr., G, Camillus, NY/West Genesee
Goodsell stopped 13 of 24 shots in two wins over SUNY Oswego and University of Scranton last week for a .542 save percentage. She made eight saves in a 13-6 win over SUNY Oswego on Wednesday and added five more saves in a 7-5 win at Scranton on Saturday to improve to 4-1 on the season and earn her second straight E8 weekly accolade.
MEN’S TENNIS
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Matt Cicero, Houghton, Gr., Perry, NY/Warsaw
Cicero was the lone Highlander to earn a win at both singles and doubles in Saturday’s contest against SUNY Oneota. He began the afternoon with an 8-5 win with teammate Nolan Zach at third doubles before taking the sixth singles contest by a 6-1, 6-3 score.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Max Stuver, Nazareth, So., S/RS, Webster, NY/McQuaid Jesuit
Stuver had another excellent week, as he helped Nazareth to three straight wins in California. He finished the three matches with 26 kills (.340), 25 assists, two aces, 19 digs and three blocks as the Golden Flyers beat Lasell, UC-Santa Cruz and St. Norbert. On Saturday, Stuver excelled in the win over UC Santa Cruz, hitting .500 with 13 kills, nine assists and seven digs in the win.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Alex Vega, Elmira, Fr., L/DS, San Cristobal, Dominican Republic/Liceo Antonio Garabito
Vega recorded 44 digs, 12 assists and three kills in four matches for the Soaring Eagles, spanning 13 sets. On Saturday, Vega compiled a season-best 16 digs against D’Youville and on Sunday, followed that up with 11 digs, five assists and three kills in a three-set win over Adrian. It is Vega’s second E8 weekly accolade of the 2023 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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