FOOTBALL
PSAC Western Division Offensive Athlete of the Week
Anthony Guercio
Clarion
Quarterback
Redshirt Junior
North Olmsted, Ohio / North Olmsted
Guercio led a 20-point fourth quarter comeback on Saturday, helping the Golden Eagles to a 29-28 win over Edinboro. The redshirt junior quarterback threw for a career-high 372 yards and three touchdown passes and also ran for a game-high 88 yards and a score. Clarion rallied from a 28-9 deficit in the fourth quarter with Guercio leading three consecutive touchdown drives. Two of those drives included long passes from Guercio, including a 67-yard touchdown throw to Ray Jackson and a 68-yard pass to Trevon Tate that set up Guercio's touchdown run.
PSAC Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Dominic Solomon Jr.
California
Defensive Back
Senior
Clairton, Pa. / Clairton
Solomon posted a team-leading eight tackles and registered a pivotal interception, as California claimed a 28-7 win against No. 6 Slippery Rock on Saturday afternoon. With the Vulcans holding a 20-7 lead midway through the third quarter, he halted a drive by The Rock with an interception at the Cal 2-yard line. The Vulcans then converted the turnover into an eight-point scoring drive that last nearly nine minutes to seal the victory. Solomon helped anchor a defense that held Slippery Rock to under 300 yards of total offense, including 10 rushing yards, and seven points after The Rock entered the weekend averaging over 375 yards of offense and 28 points per game.
PSAC Western Division Special Teams Athlete of the Week
Anthony Beitko
California
Kicker
Senior
White Oak, Pa. / McKeesport
Beitko converted a pair of field goals on Homecoming, as the Vulcans posted a 28-7 victory against No. 6 Slippery Rock on Saturday afternoon. He made a 41-yard field goal early in the second quarter to give California a 17-0 lead. Beitko later accounted for the only points in the third quarter with a 20-yard field goal to make it a 20-7 contest. The McKeesport product also averaged 62.8 yards on six kickoffs to help force Slippery Rock into average starting position of its own 21-yard line.
PSAC Eastern Division Offensive Athlete of the Week
Tahir Mills
East Stroudsburg
Running Back
Junior
Ridley, Pa. / Ridley
Mills led the Warriors' rushing attack with 140 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 10 yards per carry in last Saturday's 45-31 victory over West Chester. He rushed for touchdowns of 32 and 37 yards and spearheaded a rushing offense that posted 273 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.
PSAC Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Rocco Daugherty
Lock Haven
Linebacker
Sophomore
Manheim, Pa. / Manheim Central
Daugherty finished with five tackles and forced and recovered a fumble for a touchdown to help lead the Bald Eagles to an exciting 35-32 victory over Bloomsburg last Saturday night. Daugherty's defensive touchdown came late in the first quarter to help The Haven jump out to a 21-6 lead, which proved crucial in the victory. Daugherty now has three takeaways on the season after picking off two passes in the season opener, as his team improves to 3-4 overall and 2-2 in the PSAC East.
PSAC Eastern Division Special Teams Athlete of the Week
Ryan Barrick
Shepherd
Punter
Senior
Frederick, Md. / Tuscarora
Barrick punted four times for a 47.8 average against Millersville, as the Rams earned the 35-21 victory last Saturday. He placed all four punts inside the 20-yard line and had a long punt of 56 yards. His 47-yard punt in the second quarter was downed on the one-yard line and set up Shepherd's first touchdown.
WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Western Division Athlete of the Week
Cassidy Snider
Clarion
Outside Hitter
Senior
Harmonsburg, Pa. / Conneaut
Snider averaged 5.78 kills per set and hit .333 in wins over IUP and Pitt-Johnstown in PSAC West action. The senior went off for 29 kills in a four-set win over the Crimson Hawks on Friday, becoming the second player in program history to go over 1,800 kills in the process. The 29 kills is the most in any four-set match in NCAA Division II this year. She also recorded nine digs and four blocks for a total of 32.5 points in the win. Against the Mountain Cats on Saturday, Snider helped to lead a reverse sweep comeback, totaling 23 kills and hitting .333 as the Golden Eagles came back from a 2-0 deficit. She finished with a double-double, posting 14 digs and also adding two blocks. Snider is third in the nation in kills per set (5.29) and points per set (5.76).
Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Ali Sorenson
Gannon
Middle Blocker
Senior
Tinley Park, Ill. / Lincoln Way East
Sorenson had two outstanding performances last week as she helped Gannon to a pair of sweeps over PSAC West opponents. Sorenson totaled 10 total blocks on the defensive end and also contributed mightily on offense, hitting a combined .647 with 24 kills over two matches as the Golden Knights swept California and Slippery Rock. She opened the weekend by piling up 13 kills with just one error on 17 attacks for a .706 attack percentage in Gannon's 25-9, 25-11, 25-13 victory over Cal on Saturday. She finished with 14.5 points and had two total blocks in the match. Sorenson then had five blocks, including three solo blocks. and compiled 11 kills with just one error on 17 attacks as she registered a .588 attack percentage in Gannon's 25-23, 25-16, 25-8 win over SRU. For the season, Sorenson has a career-high 191 kills and leads GU with 94 total blocks.
Eastern Division Athlete of the Week
Emma Ludwig
Millersville
Setter
Senior
Boyertown, Pa. / Boyertown
Ludwig broke a 29-year old program record for most assists in a career in an Oct. 18 sweep over Kutztown with her 3,581th career assist. The senior also helped lead the Marauders to consecutive sweeps over the Golden Bears and Warriors and a perfect 2-0 record while tallying 55 total assists, eight kills, 23 digs and one block assist. Those eight kills came without an error, leading to a hitting percentage of .444.
Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Sophia Ryan
Shepherd
Middle Hitter / Right Side
Sophomore
Monroe, N.Y. / Monroe Woodbury
Ryan recorded 13 blocks (two solo) to lead Shepherd to a 2-0 week, with a 3-0 win over Lock Haven on Oct. 18 and a 3-2 victory against Bloomsburg on Oct. 19. She added 19 kills and a pair of digs. Her 10 blocks (two solo) in the five-setter against Bloomsburg set a career-high mark.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
PSAC Western Division Athlete of the Week
Ella Fadale
Gannon
Midfielder
Junior
Brokport, N.Y. / Brockport
Ella Fadale scored in her return to the lineup after missing more than a month as she helped the Gannon women's soccer team stay in first place in the PSAC West with a 2-0 victory over Edinboro on Oct. 16. Midway through the first half, Fadale took a pass from Aubrey Pyne in the box and cut across the middle before booting a shot past the goalie into the left side of the net. That gave Gannon a 1-0 lead at the 27:17 mark as her goal eventually proved to be the game winner. She helped first-place Gannon improve to 6-0-3 in the PSAC West and 8-0-3 overall. Fadale has had great success against Edinboro the past two seasons. She scored her first goal of 2024 against Boro on Sept. 11, and she had a pair of two-goal games in two victories over the Fighting Scots in 2023.
PSAC Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Makenna Yarrow
IUP
Goalkeeper
Senior
Brandon, Miss / Northwest Rankin
Makenna Yarrow had nine saves to shutout Slippery Rock, and recorded five against Clairon to keep the 2-0 win.
PSAC Eastern Division Athlete of the Week
Alyson Cutter
West Chester
Forward
Senior
Warrington, Pa. / C.B. South
Alyson Cutter (Warrington, Pa./C.B. South) scored a hat trick in the first 20 minutes on Saturday afternoon to help guide West Chester to a dominant 6-0 victory over Mansfield. Cutter became the first West Chester player to record a hat trick since current assistant coach Scarlett Walsh in a 2015 victory over Wilmington. It was also the first West Chester hat trick in a conference game since Marie D’Angelo accomplished the feat in a 2012 victory over Mercyhurst.
PSAC Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Samantha Merklin
Bloomsburg
Goalkeeper
Junior
Effort, Pa. / Pleasant Valley
Samantha Merklin kept the Huskies in both matches to force a pair of draws and remain in contention for the PSAC Tournament. Combined for seven saves across the weekend, including five at East Stroudsburg for her eighth game of the season with at least five stops. Recorded her sixth shutout of the year against the Warriors.
MEN'S SOCCER
PSAC Western Division Athlete of the Week
Aitor Jorde
Slippery Rock
Midfielder
Junior
Bilbao, Spain / Colegio Calasancio Escolapios
Slippery Rock midfielder Aitor Jorde tallied five points in The Rock's 4-3 win at Seton Hill on two goals and one assist, leading the team with two of his four shots landing on net. The highlight for Jorde, though, was scoring one of the most improbable goals in soccer's realm of possibilities. The midfielder first got on the board by playing the second-half kickoff directly into the net - after Ignacio Rullan touched the ball to put it in play, Jorde punted the ball downfield 60 yards over the goalkeeper's head and into the back of the goal, stunning the Seton Hill defense. While the goal went into the box score as a 46th-minute strike, Jorde's world-class goal occurred a mere three seconds into the half. When The Rock trailed 3-2 with 14 minutes left, Jorde was The Rock's hero then again, heading in a 78th-minute corner to level the match at 3-3. With SRU not willing to settle for one point, Jorde intercepted a ball at midfield 1:56 later and sent Arturo Pla Hernandis on a through ball into the penalty box, earning the assist on the game-winning goal in the 80th minute.
PSAC Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Carl Dorner
Gannon
Defender
Freshman
Skødstrup, Sweden
Another of Gannon's impressive freshmen class. Carl Dorner helped the Golden Knights post shutout wins over Cal and UPJ. He paced a dominant defense that allowed just 6 shots to Cal and 1 to UPJ. Gannon has now had three straight shutouts and seven on the season and also scored his second career goal on lone shot against Cal.
PSAC Eastern Division Athlete of the Week
Alex Wilsterman
Bloomsburg
Midfielder
Graduate Student
Orefield, Pa. / Parkland
Alex Wilsterman posted a 71st-minute goal on Saturday as #25 Bloomsburg took down West Chester, 1-0, in a matchup at the top of the PSAC East table. Wilsterman's goal saw him collect a rebound off a Jake Pacacha shot before depositing it into the back of the net. The goal was the graduate student's second of the season and was monumental in gaining the Huskies separation at the top of the eastern division.
PSAC Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Brady Rimple
Bloomsburg
Goalkeeper
Graduate Student
Cherryville, Pa. / Northhampton Area
Brady Rimple led No. 25 Bloomsburg men's soccer to a 2-0 week with a pair of shutouts. Made a lead-saving stop in the 66th minute to preserve a 1-0 advantage in the Huskies win over East Stroudsburg. Finished with six saves for his East-leading sixth shutout of the season in Bloomsburg's first win over West Chester since 2019.
FIELD HOCKEY
PSAC Field Hockey Athlete of the Week
?
Agus Garibaldi
Shippensburg
Forward
Junior
Recoleta, Argentina / Colegio San Augustin
Garibaldi totaled six points during a 2-0 week for the Raiders and had a hand in all three Shippensburg goals during a wild 3-2 victory over then No. 2 Kutztown. After assisting on the first two Raider tallies, Garibaldi authored perhaps the goal of the season to net the game-winner with just 39 seconds remaining. She deflected a pass into the air to herself, then smacked the ball chest-high with a reverse hit into the back of the cage. In her next outing, she found the back of the cage once again in a 3-0 win at Slippery Rock. Her two goals this past week give her a team-leading 14 goals on the season. Her four game-winning goals is tied for the second best in the PSAC, and her 35 total points also ranks second in the conference.
PSAC Field Hockey Defensive Athlete of the Week
?
August Lewis
Mansfield
Goalkeeper
Graduate Student
Felton, Del. / Lake Forest
Lewis delivered two huge wins for the Mountaineers en route to a boost for their postseason push, defeating Slippery Rock in a 1-0 shutout and knocking off then No. 2 Kutztown in a 2-1 upset last week. The graduate student posted 12 saves, with six in each game. Three were made in the final six minutes against the Golden Bears for the Mounties to earn their second victory against them in the last three seasons and then Lewis made a penalty stroke save to win their eighth of the last nine in the series with Slippery Rock.
SWIMMING
Women’s Swimming Athlete of the Week
Jordan Plempel
Millersville
Individual Medley / Backstroke
Senior
Harrisburg, Pa. / Susquehanna Township
Jordan Plempel won two races in a dual with Division I Saint Francis and posted PSAC qualifying times in three events. Her 1:00.78 won the 100-yard backstroke by more than two seconds. She won the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:15.49. Plempel's third PSAC cut time came in the 50-yard freestyle (25.44). Including relays, Plempel accumulated 24 of Millersville's 80 points in the dual.
Men’s Swimming Athlete of the Week
David Bocci
Clarion
Freestyle / Butterfly
Senior
Butler, Pa. / Butler
David Bocci broke the pool record in the 100 Fly, won two individual events and contributed to one relay team winning as part of Clarion's 138-99 dual meet win over Gannon on Friday night. The senior started the night by helping the 200 Medley Relay team pace the field with a time of 1:32.77, with Bocci swimming the butterfly leg of the event. He showed off his speed in the fly later in the evening when he won the 100 Fly with a time of 49.78, nearly two full seconds faster than second place and a new pool record to boot. He also won the 200 Free, cruising past the rest of the field with a time of 1:43.73.