Women's Lacrosse | 7/16/2024 9:55:35 AM
The Empire 8 Conference is celebrating the league’s 25th Anniversary season in 2023-24, honoring student-athletes, teams, coaches and administrators who have played a key role in the league’s success over the last 25 years. Empire 8 Women’s Lacrosse is no exception, as several individuals and teams have excelled at the conference, national and regional levels.
Nazareth University won the inaugural Empire 8 Women’s Lacrosse Championship in 2000, finishing with the top record in the regular season. The Golden Flyers won four of the first seven eight league titles. Ithaca College won four championships in the first nine seasons of the league, including the first to be determined by a postseason tournament in 2003. St. John Fisher University has emerged as an Empire 8 women’s lacrosse power, with a conference-high 14 league championships, including 12 straight dating back to the 2012 seasons. Stevens is the only other team to win an E8 title, claiming back-to-back championships in 2010 and 2011.
RIT standout goalkeeper Kelsey Evans is the Empire 8’s lone three-time Goalkeeper of the Year, earning the honor in 2007, 2008 and 2009, while Laurie Qauckenbush and Sydney Carpenter of St. John Fisher, Alyssa Pigott, Erika Wilcox, and Kyra Bednarksi of Stevens in addition to Tracy Rivas of Ithaca were two-time Player of the Year selections. Carpenter (2023), Sydney DeGirolamo of St. John Fisher, (2021), Bednarski (2018) and Pigott (2010), along with Ally Runyon of Ithaca (2017) were all First Team IWLCA Selections.
St. John Fisher head coach Linda Michele holds the E8 record with 187 coaching wins and a .770 winning percentage in addition to 12 consecutive Empire 8 titles and four Coach of the Year awards. The Cardinals have won 24 consecutive E8 postseason games and currently hold a 54-game winning streak against league opponents, dating back to the 2018 season. Former Stevens head coach Celine Cunningham won 149 games and was a four-time E8 Coach of the Year with two league titles, while current Utica University head coach Kristin St. Hilaire also has 149 wins. Legendary Nazareth head coach Sue Behme won 115 games with a .747 winning percentage, four E8 titles and four Coach of the Year nods in the first nine seasons of the league. Ithaca head coach Karen Hollands led Ithaca to three league championships, while Shannon McHale won a combined 146 games with two league championships and four Coach of the Year honors split between St. John Fisher and Ithaca.
In 2021, St. John Fisher parlayed an Empire 8 title into a trip to the NCAA National Semifinals, defeating three nationally ranked teams in the NCAA Tournament along the way.
Below we are honoring members of the Empire 8 Women’s Lacrosse 25th Anniversary Team. Recipients were chosen by the league office and were named either a Player of the Year, All-American or earned All-Empire 8 first team honors at least three times in their collegiate careers.
Empire 8 Women’s Lacrosse 25th Anniversary Team
Brooke Andrews, G, Ithaca
Victoria Arena, D, Nazareth
Shelby Barbay, G, Utica
Kyra Bednarksi, A, Stevens
Aana Blaszka, D, Utica
Lindsay Burgess, G, Nazareth
Sarah Burns, A, Nazareth
Kelsey Campbell, A/M, Hartwick
Betsy Carney, D, Nazareth
Ashley Carey, D, Stevens
Sydney Carpenter, A/M, St. John Fisher
Heather Chaapel, G, Nazareth
Logan Chase, M, St. John Fisher
Kate Cox, D, Stevens
Sydney DeGirolamo, M, St. John Fisher
Haley DeVona, A, Nazareth
Kelsey Evans, G, RIT
Lily Goodsell, G, St. John Fisher
Lindsay Gotham, D, Nazareth
Shannon Foster, D, St. John Fisher
Claire Frier, G, Utica
Lauren Glavin, M, St. John Fisher
Taylor Hughes, M, St. John Fisher
Ashley Jablonowski, G, Hartwick
Dayna Johnson, D, Ithaca
Alyssa Johnston, M, Nazareth
Shawna Kabot, M, Nazareth
Kathleen Kalbian, M, Stevens
Becky Karver, Ithaca
Ashley Kirch, G, Nazareth
Maya Lambiase, M, Nazareth
Katie Lawrence, G, Nazareth
Melissa Leonhard, M, St. John Fisher
Molly Long, D, Ithaca
Maddie Lowney, D, St. John Fisher
Becky Karver, D, Ithaca
Katya Outwater, A, Elmira
Emma Parry, D, Nazareth
Lorra Podsiadlo, A, Nazareth
Alyssa Piechota, G, Alfred
Alyssa Pigott, A, Stevens
Kimberly Presuto, G, Ithaca
Tara Prosak, G, Nazareth
Laurie Quackenbush, A, St. John Fisher
Tracy Rivas, A, Ithaca
Brianna Rizzari, G, Nazareth
Allison Roberts, A, Nazareth
Ally Runyon, A, Ithaca
Michelle Schlegel, A/M, Ithaca
Christine Smith, M, Stevens
Emma States, A, Nazareth
Molly Tice, D, St. John Fisher
Kristen Vaccarelli, M, Hartwick
Shelby Vakiener, A/M, RIT
Spencer Waybright, M, Stevens
Jessica Welch, A, Ithaca
Erika Wilcox, M, Stevens
Jess Worthman, G, Ithaca
Founded in 1999, the Empire 8 has developed into one of the premier NCAA Division III athletic conferences, both on the field and in the classroom. The conference has created and implemented innovative and groundbreaking sportsmanship programming over this time, many of our which have received great publicity, including features in USA Today, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The NCAA News, and various athletic profession publications. The Empire 8 has also been highly influential in helping to shape the Division III landscape, passing many legislative proposals along with individuals who hold leadership roles at the national level.
Feature stories and series’ celebrating the league’s 25th anniversary will be highlighted on the conference's website and social media platforms throughout the 2023-24 season, starting in September. The conference will also be using the #E825 and #E8Anniversary hashtags on its Twitter and Instagram platforms as a way for fans to follow along throughout the year.
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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