ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College Field Hockey midfielder Amy Stevens (Castle Creek, NY/Whitney Point), a graduate student, was voted the Empire 8 Conference Player of the Year. The graduate student, who topped the E8 in scoring and goals, was one of six Gators to earn All-Conference honors. Teams were voted on by the league's head coaches.
Stevens wrote her name across the RSC record book this fall. She established program single-season standards with 49 points and 20 goals and her nine assists was tied for second-most by a Gator. The 49 points and 20 goals, both E8-leading, already put Stevens third in the program's career records. She entered the weekend ranked sixth in the country with 1.25 goals per-game, while her 3.06 points per-game had her seventh among NCAA Division III players.
"The impact Amy has had on our program from the first day she stepped on campus is hands down the most impressive impact I've experienced in my coaching career," said Head Coach Nick Pontari. "Her energy, positive mindset, and determination to be successful has rubbed off on each and every member of our Field Hockey Program. With the way she goes about treating those around her, combined with her dedication to her studies in our Physical Therapy Doctorate program here, she has been an amazing role model on what it's like to be a great person, which directly leads to her success on the field. It has been my absolute honor, and I couldn't consider myself more fortunate to have coached Amy. I'm so excited to see what the future holds for her moving forward."
Joining Stevens on the All-E8 first-team was forward Alyssa Fitzgerald (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury), also a graduate student. She totaled 36 points, good to tie for fourth in the Conference, on 17 goals and two assists. The 17 goals ranked tied for second in the E8. Fitzgerald registered four goals in a game on two occasions this fall. The output, also achieved by Stevens and forward Sara O'Connor (Rexford, NY/Niskayuna), a graduate student, is the most by a Gator in a single game. She closed the autumn with 29 career goals and 64 career points, both second all-time among RSC players.
The Gators, which made their first appearance in the E8 Championship Tournament, had three players: sophomore goalkeeper Jaia Caron (Bellows Falls, VT/Bellows Falls Union), midfielder Alexa Wentz (Whitney Point, NY/ Whitney Point), a grad student, and freshman midfielder Cheyanne Zobel (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa), receive third-team honors.
Caron, who started every game in goal, registered a .768 save percentage and a 2.479 goals-against average. The marks ranked second and fifth in the E8 respectively. She tallied a program-single season record three shutouts to help RSC secure a postseason berth.
Wentz, who played at both UAlbany and SUNY New Paltz as an undergrad, excelled offensively and defensively in her first season as a Gator. She ranked tenth nationally and second in the E8 with nine defensive saves and contributed 17 points on six goals and five assists.
Zobel stood out as a rookie, totaling 20 points on four goals and a program single-season record 12 assists. She ranked seventh in the country with 0.75 assists per-game and tied for second in the E8 with the 12 helpers.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2023 E8 Field Hockey Sportswoman 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 sportswomen. O'Connor represented the Gators on the squad. She is the program record holder for career points with 81 on 33 goals and 15 assists. O'Connor, who set the previous program single-season standards with 42 points and 17 goals in 2019, tied for seventh in the conference with 25 points on 11 goals and three assists.
The Gators (6-10/3-4 E8) qualified for the E8 Championship Tournament for the first time in 2023. RSC was edged 3-2 in the first round at Utica.
#SageNation
