ALBANY, N.Y. – In what amounted to a play-in for the fourth and final spot in the Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament, Russell Sage College fell 16-7 to visiting Hartwick on Wednesday night.
Junior defender Joe Johnson (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls), who earned a spot on the USILA D3 Team of the Week earlier this month, scored a career-high three goals in the home setback. He caused three Hartwick turnovers and secured six groundballs.
Midfielder Shea Obado (Spotswood, NJ/Spotswood), a graduate student, the program career leader in groundballs and one of only four Gators to surpass 100 career points, added two goals, while sophomore goalkeeper Andrew Collora (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon) stopped nine Hartwick shots across 27:59 of second half action.
Hartwick (4-8/2-3 E8), which locked up the four seed in next week's E8 Tournament, held leads of 6-2 after the first quarter and 10-2 at the half. The Hawks kept the Gators off the board for 34:57 spanning the opening three periods.
Sophomore attacker Colin August topped the visitors with six goals and two assists.
RSC (5-10/2-4 E8) has its season finale on Saturday afternoon at SUNY Poly.
Gator Bites: The Gators returned 24 players to this year's edition…Attacker Bailey Martin (Syracuse, NY/Onondaga Central), a graduate student, and sophomore attacker Nate Kettle (Killbuck, NY/Salamanca) headlined the group…Martin began the spring as the program career in points (139), goals (91), and assists (48)…Kettle, voted a co-captain as a sophomore, capped his rookie campaign with a second-team All-Empire 8 Conference honor…He was selected for the April 9 USILA Team of the Week and named the E8 Player of the Week for the periods ending March 17, April 7, and April 14…The sophomore, who surpassed 100 career points on April 13 vs. Utica, holds program single-season records for points and goals…He began the week leading the Conference in scoring with 62 points, 4.77 per-game…Junior defender Joe Johnson (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls) made the April 16 USILA D3 Team of the Week...He spearheaded the RSC defensive effort in the April 13 Empire 8 Conference victory vs. Utica...The junior registered six caused turnovers and five groundballs as the Gators held the visiting Pioneers scoreless for 25:35 spanning the second, third and fourth quarters of the 16-7 home win...Defender Drew Rankin (Painted Post, NY/Corning Painted Post), junior midfielder Akili Richardson (Bronx, NY/Frederick Douglass Academy), Kettle, and senior midfielder Jake McElwee (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Liberty) were voted co-captains.
Gator Golf: The 19th Annual Gator Golf Classic will be held May 31, 2024. More Information: https://www.sagegators.com/ information/Gator_Golf_Classic
