Pioneer Weekly Update: September 16th

Make sure to follow Alfred State athletics at www.alfredstateathletics.com for the latest news, statistics, and schedules.

Also follow athletics on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

Men's Cross Country: 5th at Penn State Behrend

The men's cross country team continued their solid start to the season with a strong performance at the Penn State Behrend Twilight Invitational. The Pioneers finished 5th out of 13 teams (2nd out of eight AMCC school in the competition).

Gavin Bathgate (East Rochester) led the team for the third straight week with a 15th place finish. He crossed the line in 29:17.9 (5:53 per mile). Matt Connolly (Elmira Notre Dame) was 30th (30:58.4), Austin Miller (Hornell) was 37th (31:41.4), Jacob Drew (Corning Painted Post) was 43rd (31:57.3), and Cooper Buckley (Wellsville) was the 5th man finishing in 46th (32:11.7) 

The Pioneers scored 137 points on the day.

Women's Cross Country: 7th at Penn State Behrend

The women's cross country team finished 7th out of 13 complete teams at the Penn State Behrend Twilight Invitational. The race was a preview of the AMCC Championship Course. The Pioneers were 2nd out of six AMCC schools in the race.

Caitlin Caltagirone (Holland) was the top finisher for the Pioneers. She crossed the finish line in 25:05.6 (6:56 per mile) to earn 15th place. Molly Heaphy (Long Island Lutheran) was 45th (28:17.3), Katie Watkins (Addison) was 46th (28:27.8), Sarah Rivet (Shenendehowa) was 62nd (30:15.6), and Kate Frascella (Franklinville) rounded out the top five in 65th (30:26.9).

Alfred State scored 203 points in the race.

Football: 0-2

Alfred State raced out to a 14-point, 2nd quarter lead but Hartwick was able to turn the tables as they scored the game's final 24 points to earn a 30-20 victory in the Pioneers home opener.

After Jamel Guzman (Bronx/Herbert Lehman) recovered a fumble on Hartwick's opening drive the Pioneers put together a 12-play drive that was capped by a nine-yard run by Dashown Wilson (Bronx/DeWitt Clinton). The Hawks answered right back with a scoring drive on the next drive when Grant Harman connected with Kishaun Bell on a 25-yard pass play (2-point attempt failed). 

Wilson made it 13-6 when he dove in from two-yards out with 14:18 left in the half and Andrew Pierre-Paul (Brooklyn/Erasmus Hall) gave the Pioneers their biggest lead when he picked off a Hawk pass and returned it 41 yards for a score. Hartwick scored the final 10 points of the half to cut the lead to 20-16. Jason Fucci ran in from two-yards out with 8:08 left and Kevin Roberts hit a 25-yard field goal with 2:36 remaining.

Hartwick was able to force a three and out to start the 2nd half and then strung together an 11-play drive to take their first lead. Davien Kuinlan capped the drive by scoring from six yards out to make it 23-20. The Hawks defense forced a fumble on the next possession on 4th down and Harman found Rusty Virkler seven plays later on a 17-yard scoring play to make it 30-20. Alfred State tried to rally in the 4th quarter. They drove the ball deep into Hartwick territory and was unable to capitalize and score any points. They stopped Hartwick again and got the ball back with 3:20 left in the contest but couldn't muster any more scoring.

Wilson finished 12 for 27 for 143 yards and rushed for 35 yards and two scores. David Carroll (Mastic/Center Moriches) caught six passes for 87 yards while Ronnie Clark (Philadelphia/Indian River) rushed for 49 yards on 20 carries.

Brockton Weist (Harpursville) led Alfred State with seven tackles while Rylie Van Fleet (Maine Endwell) had six solo tackles. 

Men's Soccer: 0-3

The Pioneers fell 1-0 in a tight match at Houghton on Saturday. Nico Coria (Honeoye Falls Lima) was big in net for the Pioneers making nine saves. 

Women's Soccer: 0-3-1

The women's soccer team was unable to pick up a victory this week. They fell 3-1 at Elmira and 5-1 at Penn College.

Riley Mucher (Warsaw) got the Pioneers a lead 35:27 into the game at Elmira when she lifted a free kick into the back of the net from the edge of the box. Elmira tied it up moments later and scored a pair of goals in the 2nd half to earn the victory.

Althea Prime (Cherry Valley Springfield) scored her first collegiate goal in the contest at Penn College.

Volleyball: 4-5

The volleyball team won a pair of matches at Penn College on Saturday. The Pioneers swept the hosts 3-0 and then won a back and forth 3-2 battle with Cairn University.

The Pioneers collected 13 service aces and hit .217 in the contest vs. Penn College. Kiara Perkins (Coudersport, PA) led the team with 10 kills while Alyssa Fox (Letchworth) finished with nine kills and a team high 15 digs. Jordan McCooey (Horseheads) passed out 29 assists, Megan Gridley (Corning Painted Post) had 11 digs, and Mya VanDuyne (Newark) served 13 consecutive times in the second set.

Alfred State took the first two sets vs. Cairn 25-22 and 25-17 but the Highlanders rallied with 18-25, 23-25 victories to force a decisive 5th set. In the 5th set, the Pioneers jumped out to a 5-3 lead but Cairn rallied and led 7-6. The set was tied at 8-8 and 9-9 before the Pioneers scored five of the next seven points to take control. Perkins finished with 15 kills and 20 digs for Alfred State (4-5) while Alyssa Martin (Portville) chipped in nine big kills. McCooey passed out 33 assists, Gridley had 17 digs, and Fox chipped in nine digs and four kills. Middle hitters VanDuyne and Isabella Slocum (Hornell/Cal-Mum) both had key kills and finished with four total kills each.