General | 9/11/2023 12:21:07 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on September 11, 2023, for games played from September 5 -September 10. It is the second Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2023-24 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 – Bennett Melita, Utica, Fr., Johnstown, NY/Fonda-Fultonville
Melita placed third out of 124 runners and was the top Empire 8 finisher at the Hamilton College Short Course Invitational on Saturday in a time of 15:33.2 over the 5,000-meter course. He averaged a 5:00.4 mile time for the event, outlasting 2022 All-E8 first team selections Nathan Bowers of Nazareth and Caleb Kasper of Houghton by two and five seconds, respectively. It is Melita’s second straight E8 weekly honor.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Emily Weaver, Nazareth, Gr., Martville, NY/Hannibal
Weaver placed fourth out of 102 runners and was the top Empire 8 finisher at the Hamilton College Short Course Invitational on Saturday in a time of 14:55.5 over the 4,000-meter course. She averaged a 6:00.3 mile time for the event, outlasting teammate and 2022 All-E8 first team selections Lilianna Hanning by just over five seconds.
FIELD HOCKEY
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Bekah Davie, Houghton, So., F, Liverpool, NY/Liverpool
Davie scored four goals and totaled eight points in a pair of games, helping Houghton remain unbeaten with a 4-1 victory over Lycoming College and 3-0 win over Oswego State. She tallied a hat-trick in the win over Lycoming and scored the game-winning tally against Oswego.
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Alyssa Pisano, Utica, Sr., M, Hopewell Junction, NY/Arlington
Pisano broke out in Utica's 9-0 win at Morrisville on Saturday, scoring four goals on six shots on goal over just 28 minutes of play. She scored three times in the opening half and added her fourth goal in the fourth quarter.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jordan Nichols, Keuka, Jr., GK, Deposit, NY/Afton
Nichols stopped 16-of-18 shots for a .889 save percentage and 1.33 goals against average in a 1-1 week for the Wolves. She began the week by stopping six shots in the opening half, as Keuka earned a 7-0 win over Morrisville on Wednesday. Nichols made 10 saves on 12 shots in 2-1 loss at Lycoming on Saturday.
FOOTBALL
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Zac Boyes, Cortland, Jr., QB, Buffalo, NY/Kenmore West
Boyes completed 22-of-30 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns, despite not playing in the fourth quarter, as 10th-ranked Cortland won at Lycoming, 62-7. He threw a 54-yard TD pass in the first quarter, a 21-yard scoring pass in the second quarter and a 29-yard TD pass in the third quarter. Boyes reached the 300-yard passing mark for the fourth time in his career and also added 46 yards rushing.
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Nate Rath, Hartwick, Sr., WR, Newport, NY/West Canada Valley
Rath played a major role in Hartwick's 31-21 win over Keystone on Saturday, catching seven passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns. After the Hawks were down 14-0, Rath collected a pass for a 63-yard touchdown reception. He followed that up with the game-tying touchdown in the 4th quarter with a 13-yard reception into the back right corner of the endzone.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Owen Lawler, Hartwick, Sr., DB, Enfield, CT/Enfield
Lawler played a key role on the defensive side of the ball in the second half, holding the Giants scoreless. He finished with four solo tackles, two pass breakups, two interceptions and one sack for a 12-yard loss. Lawler intercepted a pass early in the third quarter, setting up the start of Hartwick's comeback as the Hawks would go on to score on their ensuing drive. He helped secure the win late in the fourth quarter, picking off the Giants on the first play of their final drive to allow the Hawks to eat up the clock on their next series.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – TJ Marsh, Alfred, Jr., LB, East Aurora, NY/East Aurora
Marsh was all over the field on defense as the Saxons picked up the 34-0 shutout win at Juniata. He totaled six tackles with five of them being solo stops. Out of those, 2.5 of them were for a loss of 15 yards with 12 of those yards coming from his solo sack. Marsh also had the game’s lone interception as he picked off the Juniata quarterback and returned the pick for 26 yards.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ryan Jafarjian, Brockport, Sr., WR, Westfield, NY/Westfield
Jafarjian came up with a clutch punt block for Brockport's special teams unit in the fourth quarter. With the game tied at 3-3, Jafarjian blocked a Susquehanna punt to force a safety which gave the Green and Gold a 5-3 lead late in the contest. The senior also made three tackles on special teams coverage.
MEN’S GOLF
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Shane Kammerman, Russell Sage, Jr., Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas
Kammerman led Russell Sage to the team title at the Keuka College Invitational at Kanon Valley Country Club on Tuesday, taking home the medalist title after shooting a 77 for the round. The Gators won the team title by 21 strokes.
MEN’S SOCCER
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Juan Jose Menendez Gutierrez, Alfred, Fr., M, Villaneuva Canada, Madrid, Spain/Woodstock Academy
Menendez Gutierrez helped the Saxons go 2-1 on the week, totaling seven points on two goals and three assists. All three assists and one of his goals occurred on the road at Pitt.-Bradford on Wednesday, helping Alfred roll to a 6-1 win. The three goals and total of five points in the road contest both established collegiate career-highs. He added a goal in a 2-0 win over Marietta College to open the Bryan Karl Tournament on Saturday.
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Byamungu Mugushu, Utica, Sr., F, Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes
Mugushu scored six points during the weekend. He began play with a fantastic outing against SUNY Poly in which he scored a trio of goals. Mugushu scored twice in the opening half to give Utica a 2-0 lead before tallying his third goal of the game in the 56th minute, as Utica would go on to win, 4-3.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jadon Schlierf, St. John Fisher, Sr., GK, Spencerport, NY/Spencerport
Schlierf made six saves in the Cardinals scoreless draw with Oswego State on Saturday.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Tatum Overton, Nazareth, So., M, Watertown, NY/Watertown
Overton had a pair of first half goals in a 2-1 win over Wheaton College on Saturday to help Nazareth to its first win of the season. Her second tally of the day turned out to be the eventual game-winning goal.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Courtney Bush, Russell Sage, So., D, Schenectady, NY/Mohonasen
Bush scored the lone goal of Sunday's 1-0 home victory vs. Eastern Connecticut State. She helped the Gators record the clean sheet with just one ECSU shot on goal, and six overall.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Alina Zabihailo, Alfred, So., Kiev, Ukraine/Educational Complex #143
Zabihailo was undefeated for the second week in a row, winning two No. 1 doubles matches and two No. 1 singles matches as the Saxons upped their win streak to four. She had three, 6-0 singles sets on the week while her and Macy Youngberg won both doubles matches with 8-2 scores. Zabihailo started the week with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Lycoming’s Hannah Seebold before closing out the weekend with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Mount Aloysius’s Kendra Sines. It is her second straight E8 weekly honor to begin 2023.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Tessa Grover, Nazareth, Jr., S/RS, Penfield, NY/Penfield
Grover recorded a pair of triple-doubles in three matches over the weekend, averaging 4.0 kills, 4.7 points, 4/1 assists, 3.0 digs and 0.5 service aces per set, while hitting .261. Her triple-double against John Carroll Friday night was completed before the second set was over. She finished that match with 20 kills, 20 assists and 17 digs. On Saturday, she had another triple-double with 19 kills, 22 assists and 12 digs in a five-set loss to Geneseo. She had 48 kills, 49 assists and 36 digs during the week and leads the nation with three triple-doubles in 2023.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Taylor Malone, Alfred, So., OH, Horseheads, NY/Horseheads
Malone helped the Saxons go 3-0 during the Skidmore College Classic on Friday and Saturday, defeating Plattsburgh State in three sets and SUNY Oneonta and SUNY Morrisville in four sets each on Saturday. Malone had multiple career-highs as she totaled 46 kills, two block assists and one service ace for a total of 48.0 points. She had a career-high 19 kills against SUNY Oneonta. Malone followed that match with 17 kills in a win over SUNY Morrisville. Malone added 10 kills, eight digs and two assists in a win over Plattsburgh. She is now on a five-match streak of double-digit kills and points.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Ainslie Reimer, Houghton, Fr., OH, Ithaca, NY/Ithaca
Reimer landed 11 kills with just three errors (a .381 hitting percentage), eight digs, and two aces in the Highlanders' lone match of the week, a three-set sweep at Hilbert College on Tuesday.
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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