ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College had five players earn All-Empire 8 Conference honors. Results of the voting, conducted by the league's head coaches, were announced by the E8 office earlier today.
Junior defender Joe Johnson (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls) became the first Gator to make the first-team. He excelled in the RSC defensive and face-off midfield units, while totaling eight points on six goals and two assists. Johnson, now a three-time All-E8 selection, closed his spring ranked second on the circuit with 33 caused turnovers. Heading into the postseason, his averages of 2.06 caused turnovers and 4.25 groundballs were good for fourth and fifth respectively in the Conference.
said head coach Ryan Lanigan
He made the April 16th USILA D3 Team of the Week for his performance in helping the Gators defeat Utica for the first time on April 13. Johnson, who finished the season as the program's career leader with 80 caused turnovers and ranks second among Gators with 168 career groundballs, registered six caused turnovers and five groundballs as RSC held the visiting Pioneers scoreless for 25:35 spanning the second, third, and fourth quarters in the 16-7 home win.
Sophomore attacker Nate Kettle (Killbuck, NY/Salamanca) repeated as a second-team All-E8 pick. The co-captain established program single-season records for points (66) and goals (43) and already ranks third in program career records with 111 points and 75 goals. He made the April 9 USILA D3 Team of the Week and was chosen the E8 Player of the Week on three occasions. Kettle, who registered nine points in a game twice, finished his spring atop the E8 with 4.4 points per-game and sat second in the Conference with 43 goals, 2.87 per-game, and 66 points.
Midfielder Shea Obado (Spotswood, NJ/Spotswood), a graduate student, and senior defender Hunter Riley (Ballston Lake, NY/Shenendehowa) garnered third-team accolades.
Obado, the program career leader with 256 groundballs, registered 42 points on 30 goals and 12 assists, 40 groundballs, and 13 caused turnovers this season. The grad student, who scored five goals in twice this spring, currently ranks second among Gators all-time with 130 career points, 87 career goals, 43 career assists and 68 caused turnovers.
Riley arrived to RSC from Wilkes totaled 54 goundballs and 15 caused turnovers. He closed his spring ranked seventh in the E8 with 3.86 groundballs per-game.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2024 E8 Men's Lacrosse Sportsmen of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen. Senior attacker Zach Cahill (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls Central) represented the Gators on the squad.
RSC went 6-10 overall, 2-4 in the E8, and narrowly missed out on the fourth and final spot in the E8 Championship Tournament.
Gator Golf: The 19th Annual Gator Golf Classic will be held May 31, 2024. More Information: https://www.sagegators.com/ information/Gator_Golf_Classic
