SUNYAC selects field hockey, soccer and volleyball athletes of the week
CORTLAND, N.Y. - The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) has announced its selections for field hockey, soccer and volleyball athletes of the week. This is the last soccer picks for the 2016 season. Champions will be crowned in field hockey, men's soccer and women's soccer on November 5 while volleyball will be decided on November 6.
Field Hockey Offensive Athlete of the Week
Jessica Welsh, Cortland
(So, F - Hamilton, N.Y.)
Welsh helped lead Cortland (12-3) to two road conference wins that clinched the SUNYAC regular-season title. In a 3-0 victory at Oneonta on Friday, she scored Cortland's second and third goals. Welsh then tallied the game-tying goal in a 2-1 win at New Paltz on Saturday. For the season, Welsh has 36 points on a team-high 14 goals and eight assists.
Field Hockey Defensive Athlete of the Week
Nicole Gregg, Geneseo
(Jr., goalie - Whitney Point, N.Y.)
Gregg stopped eight shots in a 4-1 victory at Houghton on Tuesday before making four saves in a 1-0 win at Utica on Thursday. She has only allowed three goals during the Knights' current seven-match winning streak, preserving four shutouts and a stingy 0.60 goals against average.
Men's Soccer Defensive Athlete of the Week
Connor Young, Cortland
(Jr, G - Bayport, NY/Bayport-Blue Point)
Young recorded three consecutive shutouts last week as the nationally eighth-ranked Red Dragons (15-2) clinched the SUNYAC regular-season title. He earned a 5-0 shutout versus Hobart on Tuesday. In a 1-0 victory versus Oswego on Saturday, Young made five saves. He finished off the week with three saves in a 7-0 blanking of Canton on Sunday. He extended his shutout streak to 356:00 and the shutout on Sunday was a program-record 12th of the season for Cortland. Overall, Young has posted a 10-0 record with a 0.20 GAA, 51 saves, a .962 save percentage and eight shutouts.
Men's Soccer Offensive Athlete of the Week
Nick Tata, Cortland
(Sr, F - Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute)
Tata helped lead nationally eighth-ranked Cortland to three home shutout victories last week, extending the team's winning streak to 10 games and improving to 15-2 on the season. In a 5-0 win versus Hobart on Tuesday, Tata tallied the first two goals of the game. He then assisted on the game-winning goal early in the second half as Cortland secured the SUNYAC regular-season title with a 1-0 win versus Oswego on Saturday. Tata added two more goals in a 7-0 win versus Canton on Sunday. For the week, he scored nine points on four goals, including two game winners, and one assist. He leads the Red Dragons with 24 points on a team-best 11 goals and two assists and has netted seven game-winning goals.
Women's Soccer Defensive Athlete of the Week
Catherine Eliasson, Brockport
(Jr, GK - Salisbury Mills, N.Y.)
In a crucial SUNYAC weekend for the Golden Eagles, Catherin Eliasson was key in helping Brockport secure a spot in the conference playoffs. The junior net minder helped the team go 1-0-1 on the week, starting in a 2-1 double overtime win over Plattsburgh St. Eliasson saw 106:39 minutes, facing 19 shots, making six saves on the day, for a save percentage of .857. The Golden Eagles saw their second straight double overtime matchup the next day, in a 0-0 tie against SUNY Potsdam. Eliasson was key in blanking the Bears, facing 16 shots and making an impressive 10 saves in 110 minutes of action. On the weekend, the Salisbury Mills, N.Y. native saw over 226 minutes of action, 35 shots, and had a save percentage of .929.
Women's Soccer Offensive Athlete of the Week
Alexa Restante, Oswego
(Jr, M - Manlius, N.Y.)
In Saturday's game in the freezing rain, Restante turned in her best performance of the season and possibly of her career, helping the Lakers clinch a playoff spot. The Manlius, N.Y. native scored her first goal of the game just 48 seconds into the contest and then added an insurance goal, which proved to be crucial, about 20 minutes later.
Volleyball Athlete of the Week
Sam Holdredge, Brockport
(Sr, OH)
Holdredge led the Brockport squad on both offense and defense this week in route to another three conference wins. The senior racked up 37 kills in eight sets, hitting at a .337 clip. In the match against Fredonia on Saturday, she registered 20 kills while hitting .340, helping her team to a victory that secured the top seed in the conference tournament. Defensively, the Brighton, N.Y. native had 25 digs (3.13 per set), while also recording a block and a service ace.
