General | 11/4/2024 9:00:20 AM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on November 4, 2024, for games played from October 28-November 3. It is the tenth Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2024-25 season. Sports featured include men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s ice hockey, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, women’s volleyball, and men’s wrestling.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Ryan Hagan, SUNY Geneseo, Jr., Liverpool, NY/Liverpool
Hagan broke away from a tight pack late to pull away from teammate Charlie Wilson to win the Empire 8 Men’s Cross Country Championship individual title by just under three seconds in the E8 Championship record time of 24:10.2 over 8,000-meters at Field of Dreams Park on the campus of Houghton University Saturday. He recorded a blistering mile time of 4:52 en route to leading No. 5 Geneseo to the Empire 8 Team Championship. It is Hagan’s second E8 weekly honor of 2024.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Penelope Greene, SUNY Geneseo, Sr., Sag Harbor, NY/Pierson
Greene won the individual title at the 2024 Empire 8 Women’s Cross Country Championship held at Field of Dreams Park on the campus of Houghton University Saturday, finishing 13 seconds ahead of the field over the 6,000-meter course in an E8 Championship record setting time of 21:26.1. She helped lead a top-five finish sweep for No. 7 Geneseo, as they cruised to the E8 team title. It is Greene’s fourth E8 weekly honor of the season.
FIELD HOCKEY
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jessica Betts, Hartwick, Sr., F, South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls
Betts was a force against Keuka on Saturday in the regular season finale, recording a hat trick in Hartwick's 6-0 victory. She was efficient on her attack, getting off 12 shots and putting eight on goal in the victory.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Senja Matson, St. John Fisher, Sr., GK, Ballston Lake, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake
Matson made eight saves to earn the shutout in St. John Fisher’s 1-0 win over SUNY Brockport in the regular season finale Thursday. She now has three shutouts on the season.
FOOTBALL
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Isaiah Simmons, SUNY Brockport, So., RB, Buffalo, NY/South Park
Simmons set a new career-high with 259 rushing yards for two touchdowns on 30 carries in Brockport's week nine win over Utica, 20-10 Saturday. He averaged 8.6 yards per carry in the contest, as his performance sits at fifth in program history for rushing yards in a single game. Simmons had multiple (6) runs of 10+ yards, including a long of 76 yards for the day. His pair of scores came on a 1-yard rush in the second and a 32-yard play in the fourth. The 259 yards are an Empire 8 single-game high in rushing yards this season. It is his second E8 weekly accolade of the season.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Joe Copp, Alfred, Gr., LB, Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse-Minoa
Copp broke the Alfred University football program record for career tackles, bringing his total to 416 tackles, surpassing A.J. LiCata ’18 and his mark of 412. He totaled 10 tackles (eight solo) with one sack for a loss of five yards, two forced fumbles, one interception and three quarterback hurries. Copp’s efforts helped the Saxons to a 34-31 win over St. John Fisher University on Saturday.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Dominic Bronco, Alfred, So., K, Rochester, NY/Aquinas
Bronco continues his perfection with his foot as he not only went 4-for-4 in point-after attempts on Saturday and was also 2-for-2 in field goals, including the 38-yard game-winning score in the final minute of regulation in a 34-31 win over St. John Fisher University.
MEN’S ICE HOCKEY
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Spencer Flansburg, SUNY Brockport, So., Saratoga Springs, NY
Flansburg recorded three points on two goals and an assist and was plus-1 as the Golden Eagles skated to a pair of ties at the season-opening Buffalo State Tournament. He scored a goal and was plus-2 in a 2-2 tie against St. Anselm and added a goal and an assist in a 4-4 tie against Misericordia on Saturday.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK – Brody Haynes, Elmira, Jr., York, PA/Commonwealth Charter Academy
Haynes made his first start of the season on Saturday against Oswego State and recorded his first career shutout in scoreless tie. Haynes recorded 35 saves on the evening, including 15 in the third period to help secure the eventual tie against the Lakers.
MEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jose Navea Corporan, Elmira, So., M, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic/Punta Cana
Corporan recorded three goals on the week to help the Soaring Eagles to a pair of victories against Houghton and Nazareth. Corporan converted a penalty kick goal in a 3-1 victory against Houghton to help the Soaring Eagles secure a playoff spot Wednesday. He followed with two goals less than a minute apart on Saturday in a 2-1 victory against Nazareth in the Empire 8 Quarterfinals.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Christian Burkhart, St. John Fisher, Gr., GK, Rochester, NY/Brighton
Burkhart recorded his 10th and 11th shutouts of the season, as the Cardinals earned a pair of wins on the week. He stopped three shots in a 1-0 win over Nazareth Wednesday that clinched the Empire 8 Regular Season title. On Saturday, Burkhart made five saves in a 1-0 win over Russell Sage Saturday in the quarterfinal round of the E8 Tournament. He is now a two-time E8 Player of the Week this season.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jaylah Cossin, SUNY Brockport, Gr., F, Silver Creek, NY/Silver Creek
Cossin totaled six points in a 2-0 week for the Golden Eagles. She scored the eventual game-winning goal and added two assists in a 3-1 win over SUNY Geneseo in the regular season finale that clinched the E8 regular season title. In Brockport's 1-0 win over Elmira in the Empire 8 Quarterfinals Saturday, Cossin tallied the game-winning goal in the 70th minute. It is Cossin’s second E8 weekly accolade of 2024.
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Juliette Frischmann, SUNY Geneseo, Gr., F, Brighton, NY/Brighton
Frischmann scored a natural hat-trick with three straight goals 14:39 apart midway through the second half in SUNY Geneseo’s 4-2 win over No. 7 seed Houghton University in the quarterfinal round of the Empire 8 Women’s Soccer Championship Tournament Saturday. She now has 11 goals on the season.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Annika Monfort, Nazareth, Sr., GK, Westford, MA/Westford Academy
Monfort had a total of 10 saves this week in two shutout wins for the Golden Flyers. She had five against St. John Fisher on Wednesday in a 1-0 win in the final conference game of the season. She added five more in the E8 quarterfinal round against Russell Sage in a 1-0 win to help Nazareth advance to the semifinals. It is Monfort’s second E8 weekly honor this season.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Carlos Gonzalez, Alfred, Fr., Breaststroke/Individual Medley, Baja California, Mexico/Unifront
Gonzalez helped the Saxons continue their win streak, defeating Hobart College on Friday evening, winning all three of his events. He teamed with William LaMastus, Emiliano Terrazas and Emmanuel Drappatz to win the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:37.66. He broke yet another McLane Natatorium pool record, swimming a 2:06.54 in the 200-yard breaststroke while clocking the fourth-fastest time in school history. Gonzalez also broke the one-minute mark in the 100-yard breaststroke, winning the event by almost four seconds, setting a time of 58.64. It is his second straight E8 weekly accolade.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Courtney Pierce, Hartwick, Jr., Breaststroke/Freestyle, Fulton, NY/G. Ray Bodley
Pierce helped the Hawks stay undefeated on the young season and propelled them to their first victory over Nazareth since 2016. In what would prove to be a tight battle between the two teams, the Hawks picked up an early lead as Pierce swam the second leg of the 200-meter medley relay where the team just out-touched their opponent by .95 seconds for the win. The junior followed that up with a win a two-second win in the 200-meter freestyle and a tightly contested 100-meter freestyle by .49 seconds. She ended her afternoon with a first-place finish in the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:52.85.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ana Gutman, St. John Fisher, So., MB, Rochester, NY/Penfield
Gutman hit .455 with 28 kills and three blocks in a pair of E8 wins last weekend that propelled the Cardinals to the No. 2 overall seed in the upcoming league tourney. She hit .400 with 14 kills in Friday’s three-set win over Houghton and added 14 kills on a sensational .520 hitting percentage in a four-set victory against Alfred on Saturday.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Braelyn Hornick, Hartwick, Sr., S, Candor, NY/Candor
Hornick orchestrated an offense that hit .286 over the weekend as the Hawks defeated SUNY Geneseo and SUNY Brockport by identical four-set margins to secure the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Empire 8 tournament. Hornick posted 41 assists in each contest. She also picked up a combined 23 digs, three kills, two block assists, and one ace in the two matches. It is her third E8 weekly honor of the season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Lydia Fraser, St. John Fisher, Fr., OH, Plymouth, MI/Father Gabriel Richard Catholic
Fraser averaged 3.43 kills, 2.71 digs and 4.29 points per set, while hitting .373 in a pair of E8 wins last weekend that propelled the Cardinals to the No. 2 overall seed in the upcoming league tourney. On Friday has 12 digs, six kills and three blocks in the win over Houghton. She hit .469 with 18 kills, seven digs and a pair of service aces in a four-set victory over Alfred on Saturday. It is Fraser’s fifth E8 weekly honor of the season.
MEN’S WRESTLING
WRESTLER OF THE WEEK – Gavin McLaughlin, SUNY Brockport, Jr., 174 lbs., Poughkeepsie, NY/Roy C. Ketcham
McLaughlin earned a third-place finish at 174 lbs. to help score 18 points for the Green and Gold at Messiah University to kick off the 2024-25 season. McLaughlin faced wrestlers from Johns Hopkins, Messiah, and McDaniel. He won his first three matches, two by major decision and one via technical fall before falling to the top-seeded wrestler by a tight score of 6-4 in the semifinals.
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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