General | 9/15/2025 1:00:00 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on September 15, 2025, for games played from September 8 -September 14. It is the third Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2025-26 season. Sports featured include men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s tennis, and women’s volleyball.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Amos Bixler, Houghton, Sr., Dalton, OH/Central Christian
Bixler finished fifth overall out of 112 runners and was the top Empire 8 finisher at the Hamilton Short Course Invitational on Saturday. He rallied late to record a time of 15:28.1 over the 5,000-meter course, which is a personal best over the 5,000-meter distance in cross country.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Ella Impaglia, Nazareth, Sr., Gouverneur, NY/Gouverneur
Impaglia led the Golden Flyers with a stellar run at the Hamilton Short Course Invitational Saturday, placing third overall out of 108 student-athletes in a time of 14:43.4. Impaglia crushed her previous time from the Hamilton Invitational in 2024, dropping more than 20 seconds.
FIELD HOCKEY
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Skyler Van Wormer, Russell Sage, So., F, Guilderland, NY/Guilderland
Van Wormer scored three goals in a pair of wins for Russell Sage, including both game-winners. She scored the game-winner with six minutes left in regulation to break a 2-2 tie and lift the Gators to a 3-2 victory over Ramapo College on Wednesday. Two days later, Van Wormer scored both goals, one in the second quarter and the other in the fourth quarter to lead Russell Sage to a 2-0 win over Keuka College to begin league play.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Lauren Bachner, Nazareth, Sr., GK, Gorham, ME/Gorham
Bachner registered her second straight shutout victory in 1-0 win over Allegheny on Saturday, posting five saves in goal. She ranks second in the Empire 8 with an .882 save percentage. It is her second straight E8 weekly honor.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Morgan Parrinello, St. John Fisher, So., GK, Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon
Parrinello made eight saves to lead the Cardinals to a pair of victories during the week, 2-0 against Oswego on Wednesday and 4-1 over Marywood on Sunday. Parrinello made two saves and recorded her first collegiate shutout in her first start of the season on Wednesday. She followed that with a six-save performance against Marywood on Sunday.
FOOTBALL
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Tyler Szalkowski, Utica, Sr., QB, Rochester, NY/Aquinas
One week after his record-breaking week one performance, Szalkowski completed 27 of his 29 passes for 385 yards and six touchdowns in Utica’s 41-14 win over Rensselaer on Saturday. Szalkowski's completion percentage of 93.1 percent is an Empire 8 single-game record for a quarterback who completed at least 25 passes. In the passing touchdown category, the Pioneer signal-caller tied the school record for passing touchdowns, becoming the second Utica quarterback to throw for six scores after Andrew Benkwitt did so in 2012. Szalkowski is 55-for-69 (79.7 percent) with 913 passing yards and 10 touchdowns without an interception over two weeks, with the team receiving over 30 votes in the most recent D3football.com poll.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Robert Kennedy, Hartwick, Jr., LB, Hudson, NY/Hudson
Kennedy was a true playmaker in the 29-27 thriller over Buffalo State, collecting three interceptions including a 15-yard pick six in the third quarter that gave the Hawks a 20-14 lead. Kennedy's third interception came on a crucial fourth quarter drive to keep the Hawks in front. He also added nine tackles, including six solo and one tackle for loss in the win.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Anthony Luciano, SUNY Cortland, Jr., DB, Loudonville, NY/Latham
Luciano made two huge defensive plays to help Cortland limit visiting Union to just six points, and none offensively, in the Red Dragons' 30-6 win over the visiting Garnet Chargers. Early in the second quarter, he intercepted a pass in the end zone with Cortland leading 7-0. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Union had the ball 2nd-and-goal at the Cortland 2-yard line with the Red Dragons clinging to a 10-6 lead. Union's quarterback ran left, turned back right and starting fighting for yards at about the 2-yard line when Luciano ripped the ball from his hands. The ball went into the end zone and was recovered by Luciano for a touchback to keep Cortland in front. He finished the game with three tackles, two solo, in addition to his interception, forced fumble and fumble recovery.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Brennan McNeilly, Hartwick, Sr., DL, Lindenhurst, NY/Lindenhurst
McNeilly came up huge for the Hawks, blocking two extra points including one returned for a two-point conversion after Buffalo State scored a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Instead of Buffalo State taking a 21-20 lead, McNeilly’s play would give Hartwick a 22-20 edge. The two stops would prove to be the difference in the 29-27 victory over Buffalo State.
MEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Charlie Sorenson, SUNY Geneseo, So., D, Rochester, NY/Aquinas
Sorensen led the Knights to a 2-0 week with wins over Allegheny and Hartwick. He registered an assist in both games as they defeated the Gators 3-1 on Wednesday and the Hawks 2-1 Saturday in the Empire 8 opener. Both assists were on the game-winning goals, the first on Wednesday, coming in the 55th minute and second on Saturday, in the 61st minute.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Logan Diebold, Russell Sage, So., D, Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South
Diebold factored into both goals of Saturday's 2-1 Empire 8 home win vs. SUNY Brockport. Diebold opened the scoring by heading home a cross in the 33rd minute. In the second half, Diebold took the free kick that directly resulted in SUNY Brockport's own goal in the 55th minute, which became the eventual game-winner. In addition, Diebold helped the Gators overcome playing with ten men for the final 49 minutes to get the home win in the Empire 8 opener.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Emily Woolingham, St. John Fisher, So., F, Williamsville, NY/Williamsville East
Woolingham tallied a career-high six points with two goals and two assists to lead St. John Fisher to a 6-0 victory over Elmira in its first Empire 8 Conference game of the season on Saturday at Growney Stadium. Woolingham, who had a role in four of the six goals in the win, became the fifth Cardinal to record six points or more in a game in the last decade. She scored both goals and added an assist to vault the Cardinals to a 4-0 halftime lead.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Preslee Miller, Houghton, So., GK, Fillmore, NY/Fillmore
Miller helped Houghton stay undefeated and unscored upon this season after a 1-0-1 week. She stopped nine shots in 158 minutes of play. She played 68 minutes and made one save in a 6-0 win over Pitt-Bradford, then went the distance with 8 saves in scoreless 0-0 tie at Penn State-Behrend on Saturday.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Mikayla Piersa, Hartwick, So., GK, Huntington, NY/Elwood John H. Glenn
Piersa stood tall in between the posts against defending Empire 8 Champion SUNY Geneseo in the Empire 8 opener, totaling seven saves after facing an array of shots to earn the draw and help the Hawks move to five consecutive games without a loss. It is her second straight E8 weekly honor.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Alina Zabihailo, Alfred, Sr., Kiev, Ukraine/Educational Complex #143
Zabihailo was undefeated on the court in both singles and doubles as she helped the Saxons sweep three matches on the week, all by 7-0 scores, including wins in Empire 8 play over Russell Sage College and Utica University. In non-conference road action at Lycoming College, Zabihailo won at No. 1 singles, 6-1, 6-4 after claiming a 6-2 No. 1 doubles win with Elizabeth Madsen, who she teamed with in all three matches. She then recorded a perfect day on Friday, hosting the Gators as she won No. 1 doubles and No. 1 singles with perfect scores, 6-0 and 6-0, 6-0, respectively. She ended the weekend with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Utica’s No. 1 after recording a 6-2 doubles win, also at the top spot with Madsen.
DOUBLES TEAM OF THE WEEK – Samantha Lantzy, Hartwick, So., Valatie, NY/Ichabod Crane
DOUBLES TEAM OF THE WEEK – Lily Vanuga, Hartwick, Sr., Springville, NY/Springville-Griffith Institute
The duo of Lily Vanuga and Samantha Lantzy have been flawless to start the season, pushing their win streak to five matches with two victories this week. Vanuga and Lantzy picked up a 6-0 win at No.1 over Delhi on Wednesday and ended with a 6-1 win over Kathleen Rogers and Erin McMichael of Brockport at the No. 2 position in an E8 contest on Saturday.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Zooey Gagnier, SUNY Geneseo, Jr., L/DS, Penfield, NY/Penfield
Gagnier enjoyed an impressive weekend on defense for Geneseo, earning All-Tournament Team honors at the University of Rochester this past weekend with 73 digs over three matches. Gagnier and the Knights played three consecutive five-set matches, defeating Wheaton and the Yellowjackets. In both wins, Gagnier tallied 26 and 27 digs, respectively. She also chipped in 24 assists, averaging 1.6 assists and 4.9 digs per set in the three matches.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Taylor Malone, Alfred, Sr., OH, Horseheads, NY/Horseheads
Malone had a four-set career-high in kills on Wednesday as she helped the Saxons defeat Hilbert College on the road. She totaled 23 kills to go along with a .356 attack percentage and finished with 24.0 points as she added one service ace. Malone recorded a double-double as she had 11 digs, tying for a team second best in the category. She added one set assist on the evening.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Luba Butcher, SUNY Brockport, Fr., OH, White Plains, NY/Valhalla
Luba Butcher had another big weekend for Brockport, helping the team finish 2-0 at the RIT Tri-Match to push the Golden Eagles above .500 at 5-4 overall. She did it all with a stat line of 21 kills, 21 digs, a .260 attack percentage, three service aces, and two block assists across the two matches. She had 14 digs and 10 kills in a four-set win over Alfred State and hit .292 with 11 kills in a win over RIT.