Men's Soccer | 11/11/2024 1:59:18 PM
The Empire 8 Conference announced its 2024 Empire 8 Men’s Soccer Championship All-Tournament Team on Monday, Nov. 11. Goaltender Christian Burkhart, a graduate student from St. John Fisher University was named the 2024 Empire 8 Tournament Most Valuable Player.
Burkhart continued his historic season, recording three shutouts, as the Cardinals won their third Empire 8 Championship in program history. He began the tournament with five saves, as the top-seeded Cardinals earned a 1-0 win over No. 8 Russell Sage College in the quarterfinal round on Nov. 2. Burkhart made three saves through regulation and overtime in a scoreless draw versus No. 5 SUNY Brockport in the semifinals on Nov. 6. He saved his best for the penalty kick round, stopping three of four attempts, as the Cardinals advanced by a score of 4-1. In Saturday’s Empire 8 Championship match against No. 7 seed Elmira, Burkhart made four saves to earn his NCAA-leading 13th shutout of the season in St. John Fisher’s 2-0 win, leading the Cardinals to the automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Championship Tournament.
Burkhart was one of four St. John Fisher student-athletes to earn All-Tournament Team honors.
2024 Empire 8 Men’s Soccer Championship All-Tournament Team
Brady Reinagel, Jr., M, SUNY Brockport (Hamburg, NY/Hamburg)
Alex Rivara, Jr., D, SUNY Brockport (Commack, NY/Commack)
Jhoan Chavez, Jr., M, Elmira (Miami, FL/Coral Reef)
Jose Navea Corporan, So., M, Elmira (Punta Cana, Dominican Republic/Punta Cana)
Ole Esselmann, Fr., D/M, Elmira (Telgate, Germany/SG Telgate)
Hunter Bulich, Fr., F, Hartwick (Catskill, NY/Christian Brothers Academy)
Jace Riegel, So., M, Hartwick (Owego, NY/Owego Free Academy)
Ryan Brown, Sr., D, St. John Fisher (Rochester, NY/McQuaid Jesuit)
Christian Burkhart, Gr., GK, St. John Fisher * (Rochester, NY/Brighton)
Trevor Heschke, Sr., D/M, St. John Fisher (Newfane, NY/Newfane)
Riley Rease, Sr., F, St. John Fisher (Nunda, NY/Keshequa)
* Named Most Outstanding Player
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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