General | 9/5/2023 12:02:56 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on September 5, 2023, for games played from August 31-September 4. It is the first 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 second out of 79 runners at the season-opening SUNY Poly Short Course Invitational on Saturday in a time of 19:23.4 to place second over the 6,000-meter course. He averaged a 5:12 mile time for the event and led the Pioneers to a second place team finish.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Elizabeth Ingellis, Russell Sage, Jr., Kingston, NY/Kingston
Ingellis was the individual medalist at the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Panther Invitational on Saturday in action from Indian Ladder Farm. She took first place for the 5,000-meter distance in a time of 20:36.4 and helped to lead Russell Sage to the team title as well.
FIELD HOCKEY
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jace Hunzinger, Houghton, Jr., F, Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy
Hunzinger tallied two goals and two assists over the opening weekend, helping the Highlanders to two wins to start the 2023 campaign. Hunzinger's first assist of the season (her 30th career helper) in Friday’s win made her the all-time assist leader in Houghton field hockey history program history. She led all of NCAA Division III in assists per game last season.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ashley Luppens, Hartwick, Sr., GK, Wading River, NY/Shoreham Wading River
Luppens stopped 16-of-17 shots for a .941 save percentage and 0.50 goals against average over the opening weekend of play. She began the week by stopping 14 shots in a 1-0 loss to No. 18 University of Rochester Friday. Luppens followed that up by earning her first collegiate shutout in a 4-0 win over against RPI, recording two saves.
FOOTBALL
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jaden AlfanoStJohn, Cortland, Jr., RB, Westhampton, NY/Westhampton Beach
AlfanoStJohn rushed for 169 yards on 27 carries (6.3 yards per carry) and scored a touchdown as Cortland opened the season with a 42-13 win over No. 10 Delaware Valley on Saturday. He ran for 101 of his 169 yards, including a 6-yard TD run, in the second half to help Cortland extend its 21-6 halftime lead. With the win, Cortland has moved up from 17th to 10th in the latest D3football.com rankings.
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Steven Frerichs, Morrisville, Sr., QB, Wilson, NY/Wilson
Frerichs led the Mustangs to a 24-14 season opening win over Kean University on the road Saturday, contributing 299 of Morrisville's 356 yards of total offense on the day. In the air, Frerichs went 18-for-29 for 235 yards passing, throwing for touchdown strikes of 4- and 31-yards, respectively, while gaining 52 net yards rushing on 16 attempts. Frerichs also added a one-yard rushing score to his totals early in the fourth quarter. He also added seven punts for 302 yards, a 43.1 yard per kick average, while placing one inside the 20-yard line.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Anthony Fasano, Utica, Gr., LB, Deer Park, NY/Deer Park
Fasano anchored the Utica defense in the team's 20-17 win at Rochester on Saturday. With his work in the second level, the Pioneers allowed just 43 rushing yards in the contest while Fasano led the unit with 11 tackles (six solo, five assisted). He also recorded 2.5 tackles for loss in the win.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Raylens Boutin, Brockport, Sr., CB/PR, Nyack, NY/Nyack
Boutin, a preseason All-American, came up with a big play on special teams for the Golden Eagles in their 42-6 win over Buffalo State in the I-90 Bowl Thursday. Late in the second quarter he received a punt and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown. On the defensive side of the ball, Boutin finished with six total tackles in the contest (4 solo, 2 assisted).
MEN’S GOLF
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – RJ Juodaitis, St. John Fisher, Jr., Endwell, NY/Union-Endicott
Juodaitis was the individual medalist at the season-opening St. Lawrence Invitational over the weekend, carding a 142 (2-under par) during the two day event. He began the tourney by shooting a remarkable 67 (5-under) on day one, while shooting a 75 on Sunday to win the event. Juodaitis led the Cardinals to a team score of 591, as they won the team title.
MEN’S SOCCER
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Martin Harguindey, Elmira, So., M/F, Ituzaingo, Argentina/Velez Sarsfield
Harguindey scored four times in Elmira’s first two games of the season, including registering a hat trick in the season-opener against Morrisville State, 5-2 win for the Purple and Gold. Harguindey also netted Elmira’s lone goal on Sunday against SUNY Brockport. Harguindey scored on each of his shots on goal over the opening weekend.
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Alex Kalivoda, Houghton, Jr., F, Binghamton, NY/Chenango Forks
Kalivoda recorded nine points on two goals and five assists in Houghton’s season-opening wins over Hilbert and Wells over the weekend. Overall, Kalivoda had a hand in seven of the Purple and Gold's 11 scores. He had two assists in Friday’s win over Hilbert and two goals and three assists in Saturday’s 6-0 victory over Wells.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Matthew Osmundson, Alfred, Jr., GK, Draper, UT/Juan Diego Catholic
Osmundson started his Alfred career with a shutout in a scoreless draw with Baldwin Wallace. Baldwin Wallace had eight great looks at finding the back of the net but each one of the shots on goal were stopped by Osmundson.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kennedy Jones, Russell Sage, Sr., F, Albany, NY/Albany
Jones registered two goals and an assist to help Russell Sage win Saturday's home opener vs. Nichols, 4-2. She tallied in the 10th minute and just over one minute later, assisted on a goal by Gianna Viscusi. Jones completed the scoring and put the game away with her second goal of the day in the 89th minute.
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Rylee Lamphere, Utica, So., M, Little Falls, NY/Dolgeville
Lamphere led Utica with four points against Morrisville State, scoring once while dishing out two assists. She assisted on the opening goal just 1:40, added her second assist of the day early in the second half and scored in the 53rd minute.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Avery Byrnes, St. John Fisher, Sr., GK, Clay, NY/Cicero North-Syracuse
Byrnes was in goal for both of the Cardinals' opening games over the weekend, holding Emerson scoreless with six saves in the opening 2-0 win Friday to earn the shutout before making seven saves in a draw with Skidmore on Saturday. She went 1-0-1 over the weekend with a 0.50 goals against average and .929 save percentage.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Alina Zabihailo, Alfred, So., Kiev, Ukraine/Educational Complex #143
Zabihailo went undefeated as she helped the Saxons start the season off, 2-0, defeating Oswego State and Fredonia State. She began the season with an 8-5 win at No. 1 doubles with Macy Youngberg at Oswego. She then faced one of her doubles opponents at No. 1 singles, winning 6-0, 6-3 on the road. The following day, Zabihailo and Youngberg had the largest margin of victory in doubles, winning 8-3 before capturing the only shutout set of the day in singles, winning 6-0, 6-1.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Dayna Edholm, Keuka, Sr., OH, Buffalo, NY/Sweet Home
Edholm averaged a double-double for the weekend with 14 kills and 10.75 digs per match, as Keuka swept all four matches of their home invitational. Edholm had a weekend-high of 16 kills in sweeps of SUNY Cobleskill and SUNY Canton. Both of those matches also featured impressive efficiency hitting .364 and .389 in those matches respectively. Her best defensive game was a 15-dig performance in the win over SUNY Cobleskill. Through just four matches, she has already accounted for over a quarter of her kills total from last season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Megan Wright, Utica, Fr., OH, Clay Center, KS/Clay Center Community
Wright shined in her first weekend of college volleyball collecting 21 kills with an impressive .271 attack percentage, four service aces, and 32 digs. The freshman played a crucial role on both sides of the ball and helped the Pioneers go 2-1 at the Oswego State Tournament including two sweeps.
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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