Men's Lacrosse | 7/22/2024 10:57:29 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 Men’s Lacrosse is no exception, as several individuals and teams have excelled at the conference, national and regional levels.
Nazareth University won the first E8 Men’s Lacrosse Championship in 2000 as the top team in the regular season, while also taking the first Empire 8 Championship Tournament to crown a league championship in 2004. The Golden Flyers have won 10 league titles overall, most recently in 2017. St. John Fisher University has won the last five Empire 8 Championships and has a current 37-game winning streak against league opponents, while Ithaca College has claimed four league titles apiece. RIT won three E8 titles in a six-year span, while Stevens won league titles in 2012 and 2018.
Current Nazareth head coach Rob Randall holds the E8 record with 259 coaching wins in addition to a league-best nine Empire 8 titles and seven Coach of the Year accolades in 24 seasons. Former Ithaca head coach Jeff Long won 229 games to go along with a .739 winning percentage, six Coach of the Year honors and four league titles in 18 seasons, while Gene Peluso piloted both RIT (2002-09) and Stevens (2010-19) to 222 wins, a .703 winning percentage, four Coach of the Year accolades and three E8 titles. Dave Dobbins has guided St. John Fisher five straight Empire 8 titles to go along with three E8 Coach of the Year honors since 2019. Legendary Division III Coaches Bill Nelson of Nazareth and Jake Coon of RIT also won E8 titles. Coon was also an All-American goalkeeper with Nazareth during the Empire 8’s inception.
Nazareth face-off specialist Drew Simoneau is the lone three-time Empire 8 Player of the Year (2013-15), while Scott Sidnam of Ithaca and Dave Decker of Stevens are both three-time E8 Goalkeepers of the Year. Simoneau and attackman Troy Hafele of Nazareth, along with goalkeeper Dennis Butler of Ithaca are the only four-time All-Empire 8 first team selections.
A handful of E8 student-athletes earned USILA Individual honors. Eric Goodberlet of Nazareth was the Division III National Player of the Year and Fran McCall Outstanding Midfielder in 2001. Ryan Hotaling of Nazareth was the Division III Outstanding Attackman in 2005, while Simoneau was the Face-Off Specialist of the Year in 2015, while Joe Post of St. John Fisher earned that honor in 2022. Jake Coon was the Outstanding Goalie in Division III in 2000, while Scott Sidnam of Ithaca earned the same honor in 2016. Eli Gobrecht of Ithaca was Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year in 2016.
In 2004, Nazareth advanced to the NCAA National Championship game, finishing as the runner-up before advancing to the National Semifinals the following season. RIT was ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation in 2011 and won its first 19 games of the season, advancing to the NCAA National Semifinals. Ithaca was ranked as high as No. 1 nationally in 2016, advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals with a 20-win season. In 2024, St. John Fisher made its deepest run in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the National Quarterfinals.
Below we are honoring members of the Empire 8 Men’s Lacrosse 25th Anniversary Team. Recipients were chosen by the league office and were named either a Player of the Year, USILA First, Second or Third Team All-American or earned All-Empire 8 first team honors at least three times in their collegiate careers.
Empire 8 Men’s Lacrosse 25th Anniversary Team
Bryan Adams, M, Nazareth
Chad Amidon, M, Nazareth
Max Bailey, A, Stevens
Dennis Butler, G, Ithaca
Jamie Campagna, G, St. John Fisher
Matt Casey, M, Ithaca
Scott Castle, M, Nazareth
Jerry Chasteen, D, Nazareth
Chris Cimini, D, Nazareth
Aaron Civalier, M, Nazareth
Jack Cornell, D/LSM, St. John Fisher
Jake Coon, G, Nazareth
Kelso Davis, A, RIT
David Decker, G, Stevens
Jack Deragon, G, Ithaca
Mark DeCirce, A, Nazareth
Seth DeLisle, F/O, Nazareth
Richard Dupras, M, Stevens
Darin Eakins, G, St. John Fisher
Ian Evans, A, St. John Fisher
Brandon Faubert, M, Stevens
Matthew Ferentini, M, Stevens
David Gal, G, Ithaca
Eli Gobrecht, D, Ithaca
Eric Goodberlet, M, Nazareth
Brendan Green, G, Ithaca
Troy Hafele, A, Nazareth
Ryan Hotaling, A, Nazareth
John Janiuskiewicz, A, Ithaca
Brian Jantz, D, St. John Fisher
Matt Jeffries, SSDM, St. John Fisher
Dennis Juleff, M, Ithaca
Mick Krajacic, D, Utica
Craig Lepiane, M, Ithaca
Luke Longo, SSDM, Nazareth
Matt Keating, A, Stevens
Matthew Kemmis, A, St. John Fisher
Matt Kent, SSDM, Nazareth
MJ Kiekebelt, LSM, RIT
Scott Kimiecik, G, Alfred
Jarrod Koopman, M, Nazareth
Mike Krajacic, D, Utica
Jordan MacIntosh, M, RIT
Dan MacRae, D, RIT
Mike Maher, LSM, Ithaca
Matt Marks, D, Stevens
Ryan Martin, G, Ithaca
Zach McHugh, D, Stevens
Quinn McKercher, A, Nazareth
Nicholas Miller, A, St. John Fisher
Josh Molinari, A, RIT
Jack Mulvihill, M, St. John Fisher
Matt Nelligan, A, Ithaca
JR Oreskovich, A, Stevens
Dean Peluso, M, Stevens
Nicolas Phillipi, M, Stevens
Joe Post, F/O, St. John Fisher
McLean Ralston, G, Nazareth
Brett Randall, A, Nazareth
Tim Riley, D, Ithaca
Kyle Rochester, D, St. John Fisher
Brandon Rose, LSM, Ithaca
PJ Rosencrans, M, Nazareth
Andrew Ruocco, M, RIT
Scott Sidnam, G, Ithaca
Drew Simoneau, F/O, Nazareth
Ethan Sleeman, D, Nazareth
Mark Sovie, D, Nazareth
Al Terilli, M, Nazareth
Dave Thering, A, RIT
Ryan Trombley, D, Nazareth
Jacob Tuller, D, RIT
Dave Vail, A, Alfred
Michael Walker, M, Ithaca
Neth Weidemann, D, Ithaca
Winston Wenham, D, Ithaca
Craig Whipple, A, RIT
Carson White, G, Stevens
David Wood, SSM, St. John Fisher
Luke Wooters, A, Nazareth
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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