Empire 8 Champion St. John Fisher Headlines 2024 Empire 8 Women’s Lacrosse All-Conference Selections

Women’s Lacrosse | 5/6/2024 9:45:43 AM

Empire 8 Champion St. John Fisher University earned three of the five major individual awards, as the Empire 8 Conference announced its 2024 Women’s Lacrosse All-Conference awards on Monday, May 6. The awards are voted on by the league’s head coaches.
 
St. John Fisher University junior Sydney Carpenter was named the 2024 E8 Offensive Player of the Year, while teammate Maddie Lowney, a sophomore, was named Defensive Player of the Year. The St. John Fisher coach staff, led by head coach Linda Michele was named E8 Coaching Staff of the Year. Alfred University senior Alyssa Piechota was named the Empire 8 Goalkeeper of the Year, while Utica University midfielder Maria Stuhlman
was named Rookie of the Year.
 
Carpenter, who was previously the Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year in 2022, is in the midst of another tremendous season for the Cardinals, appearing in all 18 games for the E8 Champions in 2024, recording 81 points on 52 goals and 29 assists to go along with 108 draw controls, 46 ground balls and 29 caused turnovers. Carpenter, who has 13 games with at least four points this season, was named E8 Tournament Most Valuable Player for the third straight season. She enters the NCAA Tournament with 221 career points on 131 goals and 90 assists and is the Empire 8 all-time leader with 409 draw controls. Carpenter is sixth different player in league history to be named a two-time Empire Offensive Player of the Year.
 
Lowney, who was previously the 2023 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year has enjoyed a tremendous sophomore season for the Cardinals with 58 ground balls, 75 draw controls and 37 caused turnovers. She is a key component of the St. John Fisher defensive unit that allowed just 15 goals in six Empire 8 regular season contests. Lowney is the third Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year from St. John Fisher since the award was implemented in 2019.
 
Piechota enjoyed an excellent senior season for Alfred, having played in all 15 games in 2024, Piechota led all Empire 8 goalkeepers by making 11.47 saves per game and recorded a .493 save percentage, second best in the conference. She made at least 10 saves in a game 11 times in 2024 and had made 644 saves in her collegiate career. Piechota is the first Empire 8 Goalkeeper of the Year from Alfred.
 
Stuhlman has appeared in all 18 games for the Pioneers thus season, having recorded 51 points on 29 goals and 22 assists to go along with team-high totals of 42 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers. She has recorded at least two points in a game 14 times in 2024. Stuhlman is the third Utica student-athlete to earn E8 Rookie of the Year honors and first since 2018.
 
Michele and her staff of assistant coaches Mark Michele and Alexis Bower led the Cardinals to a 6-0 record in regular season league play and their 12th straight Empire 8 title in 2024. It is the fourth straight season that Michele and her staff earned E8 Coaching Staff of the Year honors and Fisher’s fifth overall honor. Under Michele’s tutelage, the Cardinals have now won 54 consecutive games against Empire 8 opponents dating back to 2018. St. John Fisher is 11-7 overall this season entering NCAA Tournament play.
 
Five different teams had student-athletes earn first team accolades. St. John Fisher led the way with five selections on the first team and tied with Utica with a league-best eight all-conference selections in total. Eight of the 12 E8 first team members were repeat selections. Carpenter and teammate Shannon Foster, Kristen Vaccarelli of Hartwick and Aana Blaszka of Utica each garnered their third All-E8 first team honor.
 
One member of each team was named that institution’s representative on the 2024 Empire 8 Women’s Lacrosse 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.
 
2024 Empire 8 Women’s Lacrosse All-Conference Selections
 
Offensive Player of the Year: Sydney Carpenter, Jr., M, St. John Fisher

Defensive Player of the Year: Maddie Lowney, So., D, St. John Fisher

Goalkeeper of the Year: Alyssa Piechota, Sr., GK, Alfred

Rookie of the Year: Maria Stuhlman, Fr., M, Utica

Coaching Staff of the Year: St. John Fisher, led by Head Coach Linda Michele
 
Empire 8 First Team
Kate Metzler, Gr., A, Nazareth (Collegeville, PA/Spring-Ford)
Hanna Kumpf, Jr., A, St. John Fisher (Victor, NY/Victor)
Grace Stuhlman, Jr., A, Utica (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro)
Kristen Vaccarelli, Jr., M, Hartwick (Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollow Hills West)
Sydney Carpenter, Jr., M, St. John Fisher (Rochester, NY/Hilton)
Kaley Griffin, So., M, St. John Fisher (Penn Yan, NY/Penn Yan Academy)
Maria Stuhlman, Fr., M, Utica (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro)
Maggie Gannon, Sr., D, Nazareth (Williston, VT/Champlain Valley Union)
Shannon Foster, Sr., D, St. John Fisher (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee)
Maddie Lowney, So., D, St. John Fisher (Baldwin, MD/McDonogh)
Aana Blaszka, Sr., D, Utica (Hampstead, NH/Pinkerton Academy)
Alyssa Piechota, Sr., GK, Alfred (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas)
 
Empire 8 Second Team
Amelia Booth, Jr., A, Alfred (Staatsburg, NY/FDR)
Katrina Marten, Jr., A, Hartwick (Middlesex, NY/Marcus Whitman)
Mary Fiorentino, Jr., A, St. John Fisher (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford)
Samantha DeCondo, Gr., A, Utica (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro)
Claudia Pollaro, Sr., M, Hartwick (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury)
Julia Dietz, Jr., M, Nazareth (Tully, NY/Tully)
Emily Paddock, Sr., M, Nazareth (Middlesex, NY/Marcus Whitman)
Kerry Carr, Gr., M, Utica (New Hartford, NY/Millbrook School)
Abigail Call, Sr., D, Alfred (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy)
Brianna Liebro, Jr., D, Hartwick (Castleton, NY/Columbia)
Ella Stewart, Jr., D, St. John Fisher (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem)
Makayla Purdy, Fr., GK, Utica (Shirley, NY/William Floyd)
 
Empire 8 Third Team
Kara Anderson, Jr., A, Hartwick (Collingwood, Ontario/Lorne Park Secondary)
Makenna Misiurewicz, Jr., A, Nazareth (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia)
Grace Hines, Sr., A, Russell Sage (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland)
Brooke Bonetti, Jr., M, Keuka (Seneca Falls, NY/Mynderse Academy)
Alexandra Queeney, Sr., M, Russell Sage (Johnstown, NY/Johnstown)
Alyssa Pisano, Sr., M, Utica (Hopewell Junction, NY/Arlington)
Maddison Walter, Jr., M, Russell Sage (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls)
Cassidy Primrose, Fr., D, Alfred (Baldwinsville, NY/CW Baker)
Katie Deatherage, Jr., D, Keuka (Canandaigua, NY/Marcus Whitman)
Elizabeth Smith, Fr., D, Nazareth (Honeoye Falls, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima)
Angelina Schaefer, Jr., D, Russell Sage (Latham, NY/Latham)
Mara Cunningham, Sr., D, Utica (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury)
Allie Klestinec, So., GK, Nazareth (Geneva, NY/Geneva)
 
Empire 8 Sportswoman of the Year
Abigail Call, Sr., D, Alfred (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy)
Emily Madigan, Sr., M, Hartwick (Syracuse, NY/Westhill)
Jillian McGinley, Sr., M, Keuka (Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse-Minoa)
Morgan Miller, Sr., D, Nazareth (Ballston Spa, NY/Ballston Spa)
Ashley Hearn, Sr., M, Russell Sage (Waterloo, NY/Waterloo)
Cara Landry, Sr., A, John Fisher (Camillus, NY/West Genesee)
Alyssa Drell, Sr., A, Utica (Mastic, NY/William Floyd)
 
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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