Big Blue Report: September 6th Edition

Upcoming Alfred State Athletic Schedule

Links to Live Video - Stats - Results available on individual team schedule pages or at www.alfredstateathletics.com/composite 

Make sure to follow www.alfredstateathletics.com and the athletic department social media sites @ascathletics on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for the latest news on Pioneer athletics.

Week in Review:

Men's Cross Country: 2nd at Daniel Walker Invitational

Gavin Bathgate (East Rochester) won the individual title at the Daniel Walker Invitational. Bathgate along with his teammates finished 2nd in the team standings in the event hosted by Buffalo State.

Bathgate finished the 5k course at Beaver Island State Park in 16:38.07 to beat the second place finisher by just over eight seconds. Ryan Weir (Schertz, TX) was 6th (17:50.33), Aiden Bonomo (Manalapan, NJ) was 12th (19:07.62), Andrew Hvisdak (Hamburg) was 13th (19:13.06), and Brian Clark (Bethpage) rounded out the team's top five with a 15th place finish (19:36.64).

The hosts took home the team title with a score of 22. Alfred State was 2nd with 44 followed by D'Youville (80) and Hilbert. A total of 35 runners competed.

Women's Cross Country: 4th at Daniel Walker Invitational

The women's cross country team opened up the 2021 season with a 4th place finish at the Daniel Walker Invitational hosted by Buffalo State.

Katie Watkins (Addison) was the top Pioneer finisher in the race finishing the 5k course in 23:52.90 to earn 13th place. Sarah Rivet (Shenendehowa) was 16th (24:27.90), Laura Ferris (Victor/Mercy) was 17th (24:47.21), Katherine O'Buckley (Queens/Francis Lewis) was 22nd (27:39.32), and Summer Kier (East Rochester) rounded out the top five with a 24th place finish (28:09.59).

Ursuline (OH) won the team competition with a score of 20. Alfred State was 4th with 84. A total of 34 runners ran the course at Beaver Island State Park.

Football: 0-1

A 22-point 3rd quarter lifted Utica College over Alfred State, 39-21, in the 2021 season opener for both teams. Utica led 16-14 before scoring 16 unanswered points.

Utica got on the board first on a 30 yard field goal by Maki Medici just under five minutes into the game. Alfred State answered back on the their next offensive play when Aaron Jenkins (Canfield, OH) connected with Roman Napoleon (Allegany Limestone) on a 75-yard touchdown pass. Utica scored the lone points in the 2nd quarter on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Sonny Badyna to Elijah Parker. Utica went to the locker rooms with a 10-7 advantage.

They made it a nine-point game when they drove down the field on the opening possession of the 2nd half and scored when Badyna recovered a fumble by one of his teammates in the end zone. Napoleon and Jenkins connected again two plays later on a 62-yard pass play to cut it 16-14. Utica scored the next 16 points on an eight-yard touchdown run by Badyna, a one-yard pass from Badyna to Cliff Manns, and safety recorded by Anthony Novello. Alfred State scored their last points of the game with 12:30 remaining when Jake Palmer (Voorheesville) dove in from one yard out. The score came one play after Jenkins connected with Shy'rel Broadwater (Cicero North Syracuse) on a 38-yard pass play. Neither team got much going until Utica added an insurance score when Badyna hit Nate Palmer on a 54-yard pass play to make it 39-21.

Jenkins passed for 250 yards on the day and two scores. Napoleon caught five passes for 164 yards (124 yards after catch) while Broadwater had two catches for 62.

Joel Smith (Livonia) led the defense with 12 tackles (four for a loss) while Rylie Van Fleet (Maine Endwell) chipped in ten with two pass break-ups.

Men's Soccer: 1-1

The men's soccer team split a pair of matches in their opening week of the 2021 season. They fell 3-0 to Elmira but bounced back for a 2-1 victory over St. Vincent.

Alfred State outshot Elmira 17 to 6 but couldn't find the back of the net. The Eagles scored once in the 1st and twice more in the 2nd to earn the victory.

Jackson Powers (Syracuse/Westhill) scored with just over five minutes left to lift Alfred State to a 2-1 victory over St. Vincent on Saturday. Mike Bupp (East Rochester) gave the Pioneers an early lead when he scored just 4:45 into the game after getting a pass from Powers. The game remained 1-0 until the 81st minute when Caedon Seeger tied it up for the Bearcats. Andrews Mateos Carrion was credited with the assist. Powers scored at the 84:24 mark of the game. Andres Mateos (Batavia) and Farhan Abdi (Rochester/School of the Arts) were credited with assists. Thad Grierson (Perry) played all 90 minutes in goal and earned his first collegiate victory. He made one save. 

Women's Soccer: 1-1

The women's soccer team was 1-1 this week as they played their first matches in nearly two years. They were tripped up 3-0 by Houghton but earned a 2-1 victory over St. Vincent.

Megan Fisher (Ashville/Chautauqua Lake) scored a pair of goals in the victory over St. Vincent. The Bearcats got on the board early but Fisher scored her first goal of her career just under four minutes later. Fisher scored what proved to be the game-winner just under 23 minutes into the second half. The Pioneers defense held the Bearcats to just three shots in the 2nd half. Sierra Schofield (Delran, NJ) made one save in net in 90 minutes to earn her first collegiate victory.

Houghton scored once in the 1st and added two insurance goals in the 2nd half in the season opener for both teams. The Highlanders held a 14 to 10 shot advantage.

Volleyball: 3-0

The volleyball team opened up the 2021 season with three home victories. They defeated Wells 25-8, 25-18, 25-23 on opening night and then won a pair in a Saturday tri-match, 25-19, 25-20, 20-25, 25-13 over Cazenovia and 25-20, 25-17, 25-21 over Houghton.

Kiara Perkins (Coudersport, PA) led the Pioneers vs. Wells with eight kills and seven aces. In her first collegiate game, Nayomie Ferrer (Eastridge) passed out 16 assists, had eight digs, and was credited with seven kills. As a team, the Pioneers registered 12 service aces.

Ferrer led the way in the victory over Cazenovia. She passed out 40 assists, was credited with 16 digs, and recorded four service aces. Perkins added 13 kills and six digs, Faith McCombs (Copiague) had nine kills while Keturah Gregory (Laurel, MD) and Karleigh Haines (Jamestown) each had seven. 

Versus Houghton, the team served their way to victory with 17 aces. Haines had 11 kills and five aces while Perkins had nine kills and five aces. Ferrer passed out 29 assists and Megan Gridley (Corning Painted Post) led the team with nine digs.