Sage field hockey team rewarded for successful season with Empire 8 honors
SAGE FIELD HOCKEY TEAM LANDS FOUR PLAYERS ON EMPIRE 8 ALL-STAR SQUAD
Hilton, NY—Sage's field hockey team wrapped the program's second varsity season and continue to add awards and acclaim to the young program. With the release of the 2019 Empire 8 All-Conference Team, Sage had four players honored with the roll out of the honorees. Earning a selection to the Honorable Mention Team from Sage were sophomore forward Cortney Conley (Stanfordville, NY/Pine Plains), sophomore forward Sara O'Connor (Rexford, NY/Niskayuna), sophomore defender Brooke Perry (Hampton, NY/Granville), while junior Haley Mato (Copake, NY/Taconic Hills) was selected for the Empire 8 Sportswoman Team.
For the year, Sage's field hockey team doubled the win total from the inaugural season as they went 8-11 under rookie head coach Tamara Mills and with their victory Friday night earned the team's first Empire 8 victory after an 0-8 season in 2018 in the Empire 8.
Along the way, tri-captain O'Connor more than quadrupled her scoring output from the 2018 season as she led the Gators this year with her 42 points on 17 goals with 8 assists. She became the first Sage field hockey player to surpass the 50 point plateau as she now has 52 career points on 21 goals with 10 assists.
Conley, a 19-game starter added 10 points on two goals with six assists. She now has six career goals with seven assists for 19 career points which ranks fifth in the record book at Sage.
Perry, a 2019 team tri-captain started 13 of 14 matches played with three assists. She added three defensive saves and now has five career points with one goal and three assists in 30 career games played.
Mato, a tri-captain and a midfielder for the Gators picked up four goals in her 19 matches played and started. She had two defensive saves as well. She boasts 15 career points on seven goals with an assist in 36 games played with 35 starts, both of which ranks first on the career list at Sage. 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.
