Men's Soccer | 12/4/2024 12:55:11 PM
Thirteen Empire 8 men's soccer standouts were named to the 2024 United Soccer Coaches Division III Region III team. E8 Champion St. John Fisher University led the way with four All-Region selections, while Nazareth University had three student-athletes honored. SUNY Brockport, SUNY Geneseo and SUNY Poly each had two student-athletes represented.
All 13 student-athletes selected were All-Empire 8 first team selections in 2024. Christian Burkhart of St. John Fisher was the Empire 8 Goalkeeper of the Year, while teammate Joey Avallone was the Offensive Player of the Year and Joe Vogt of SUNY Geneseo was the Defensive Player of the Year. Burkhart was tied for the NCAA lead with 13 shutouts in net this season.
Vogt and fellow seniors Drew Decker of Nazareth University and Russ Domm of SUNY Brockport earned All-Region accolades for the third time in their collegiate careers, while Jake Pawlika of Nazareth repeated as All-Region. Decker became the Empire 8’s all-time leader in career assists with 38.
Below are the 2024 Empire 8 Men’s Soccer All-Region III Selections. All-Americans will be announced later in December.
FIRST TEAM
Christian Burkhart, Gr., GK, St. John Fisher (Rochester, NY/Brighton)
Ryan Brown, Gr., D, St. John Fisher (Rochester, NY/McQuaid Jesuit)
!^ Joe Vogt., Sr., D, SUNY Geneseo (Rochester, NY/Penfield)
SECOND TEAM
Ryan Fitzgerald, Sr., D, Nazareth (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena)
Jacob McGinnis, Sr., M, St. John Fisher (Rochester, NY/Brighton)
! Jake Pawlika, Sr., M, Nazareth (Oneida, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill)
!% Drew Decker, Sr., F, Nazareth (Clifton Park, NY/Christian Brothers Academy)
Jhonny Theze, Sr., F, SUNY Poly (Bronx, NY/Mohawk Valley)
THIRD TEAM
Joey Avallone, Sr., F, St. John Fisher (Southampton, NY/Southampton)
!^ Russ Domm, Sr., F, SUNY Brockport (East Rochester, NY/East Rochester)
Thomas Nimineh, Sr., M, SUNY Poly (Syracuse, NY/Syracuse Central)
FOURTH TEAM
Stefen Nikolic, Sr., M, SUNY Geneseo (Huntington, NY/Harborfields)
Max Voyer, Jr., F, SUNY Brockport (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South)
! Named to 2023 United Soccer Coaches All-Region Team
^ Named to 2022 United Soccer Coaches All-Region Team
% Named to 2021 United Soccer Coaches All-Region Team
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
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