Clifton, Thorpe & Ettienne Headline List of Nine Ravens Voted All-Northeast-10
Clifton named NE-10 Player of the Year
Thorpe first four-time NE-10 Goalkeeper 
of the Year in Conference history
Ettienne earns second-straight 
Defensive Player of the Year award
Koolman collects NE-10 Coach of the Year honors for second time 

RINDGE, N.H. (November 3, 2007) – A program-record nine members of the Northeast-10 Conference Regular Season Champion Franklin Pierce University men’s soccer team have earned All-Northeast-10 Conference recognition by a vote of the Conference’s 14 head coaches.

            Grad student David Clifton (London, England) was also selected as the NE-10’s Player of the Year, while senior All-American James Thorpe (East Longmeadow, Mass./Bridgton Academy) earned Goalkeeper of the Year for the fourth-straight year and senior All-American Bisharra Ettienne (East Elmhurst, N.Y./Dominica State College) collected Defensive Player of the Year honors for the second-straight season. Head Coach Marco Koolman capped the Ravens major award winners by being voted Coach of the Year for the second time in three years by his peers.            

Clifton is the third Franklin Pierce player in the last four years to be named NE-10 Player of the Year, joining Craig Stewart (2004) and Christopher Joyce (2005). Clifton leads the NE-10 with 35 points (3^rd in Division II) and 16 goals (4^th) to go with three assists in just 14 matches played this season for the Ravens after returning from a preseason injury. He also earned the NE-10’s Gold Ball Award, presented by Select Sport America, for netting a Conference-best 16 goals during Conference play and is one of five Ravens named to the All-NE-10 first team. His four match-winning goals are second best on the team and ranked fourth among Conference leaders.

            Clifton, an All-Conference selection for the second-straight year after earning third team honors in 2006, has also earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District I and NE-10 All-Academic first team honors this season. He ranks 12^th in program history with 24 career goals, while his 52 career points are good for 16^th in program history through 30 career matches played over two seasons.

            Thorpe has earned NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Year honors each of his four seasons at Franklin Pierce. A two-time NSCAA/adidas Division II All-American, earning second-team honors in 2006, Thorpe leads the NE-10 with nine shutouts to go with a 0.69 goals against average (3^rd NE-10, 13^th nationally) and .764 save percentage (7^th) while playing all 1,684:16 in the Ravens goal this season. In Conference play, Thorpe posted a Conference-low 0.52 GAA with a Conference-best eight shutouts to go with a .816 save percentage (2^nd).            

Thorpe, also now a four-time first team All-NE-10 selection, is a three-time first team All-New England Region pick and has re-written the goalkeeping record books at Franklin Pierce. His 7,920-minutes, 11-seconds played in goal over his career is a new NCAA Division II record for goalkeepers, while his 46 career shutouts is good for second in NCAA Division II history as well as program and Northeast-10 records. Thorpe is on pace to shatter the career goals against average with his 0.68 mark, while his .809 career save percentage is good for second all-time.

            Ettienne is the only NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year in Franklin Pierce history – earning the award for the second-straight year. He is the backbone of a Ravens defense that ranks second in the Conference with a 0.69 team goals against average (11^th nationally) and nine shutouts (10^th). The three-time first team All-Northeast-10 and NSCAA/adidas All-New England selection leads all Raven defenders with three goals for six points, netting one match-winning goal this year.

            The 2006 NSCAA/adidas first team All-American has been a key member of a Franklin Pierce defensive unit which has ranked high among NCAA Division II leaders in each of his three seasons. The Ravens led Division II with a program-record 0.44 goals against average and 15 shutouts in 2006. In 64 career matches played (all starts), Ettienne has netted 13 goals (five match-winners) to go with an assist for 27 career points.

            Koolman earns NE-10 Coach of the Year honors for the second time after also collecting the award in 2005. He guided Franklin Pierce to its program-record third-straight NE-10 regular season crown. The Ravens completed its first unbeaten run through a conference regular season schedule since 1995 (9-0-1 New England Collegiate Conference) with an 11-0-2 mark. The team leads the NE-10 in scoring, averaging 2.61 goals per match, and is second in team goals against average (0.69).            

Koolman, who earned his 100^th victory over his Franklin Pierce career this season, has posted a 108-37-18 (.718) record in his eight seasons at the Ravens helm – including a 77-18-9 (.784) clip in NE-10 regular season play. Franklin Pierce is in position to earn a fifth-straight NCAA Tournament bid under his leadership. Koolman has posted a career coaching record of 182-66-24 (.713) over 14 years, which includes his six seasons at Gannon University before taking over at Franklin Pierce. He earned NSCAA National Coach of the Year honors in Division II in 1993 and is a three-time NSCAA Region Coach of the Year honoree.

            Joining Clifton, Thorpe and Ettienne on the All-Northeast-10 first team are senior midfielder Peter Petropanagos (Mississauga, Ontario/York University) and senior back Michel Vitulano (Montreal, Quebec/College de Maisonneuve).

            Sophomore forward Henning Comé (Göteborg, Sweden) has been selected to the All-NE-10 second team, while junior midfielder Marek Hawrylik (Olsztyn, Poland/The Winchendon School) and freshmen Johan Torstensson (Falköping, Sweden) and Shaliek Dawkins (St. Catherine, Jamaica) were all named to the All-NE-10 third team.            

Petropanagos, an All-Conference pick for the third time, earns a spot on the first team for the second-straight year. The holding midfielder is a key member of the Franklin Pierce defensive unit which ranks second in the NE-10 with a 0.69 team goals against average (11^th nationally) and nine shutouts (10^th). Petropanagos has contributed a goal (first of career) and two assists for four points this season.

            Petropanagos, one of just two two-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans in program history – earning first team honors in 2006, is the first three-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District first team honoree in program history. He is a three-time NE-10 All-Academic pick and also earned NSCAA/adidas All-New England Region honors last fall. Petropanagos has played 89 of a possible 91 matches over his four-year career and totaled a goal and eight assists for ten career points.

            Vitulano, an all-NE-10 selection for the second-straight year, earns first team honors for the first time. The Franklin Pierce captain leads the team with eight assists (4^th NE-10) for eight points and is one of three Ravens (along with Ettienne and Thorpe) to play all 18 matches so far this season. He is a key member of a Ravens defensive unit that ranks second in the NE-10 with a 0.69 team GAA and nine shutouts.            

Vitulano, who joins Petropanagos as the only two three-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honorees in program history with his three-straight second team selections, is a two-time NE-10 All-Academic pick. In 73 career matches played, he has totaled five goals and ten assists for 20 career points, netting three match-winning goals.

            Comé earns All-NE-10 honors with his second team selection in his first year at Franklin Pierce after transferring from Lambuth College in Tennessee. He is second only to Clifton among NE-10 and team leaders with his 34 points (16^th nationally) and 15 goals (15^th) to go with four assists. Comé leads the Ravens with five match-winning goals (2^nd NE-10) and has totaled ten goals and three assists for 23 points in Conference play this year.

            Comé appeared in the “Faces in the Crowd” section of the October 29 issue of Sports Illustrated after earning NE-10 Player of the Week honors the same week younger brother, Marcus, a freshman at Dowling College earned Player of the Week honors in the East Coast Conference.

            Hawrylik earns a spot on the All-Northeast-10 third team for the second-straight season. He is third on the team with 11 points and four goals (one match-winner) go with three assists this fall. Hawrylik has split his time this season between the midfield and wing back positions.

            In 66 career matches played, Hawrylik has totaled ten goals and 14 assists for 34 career points. He has netted four match-winning goals over his career and earned All-Tournament team honors at the 2006 NCAA Division II New England Regional.

            Torstensson earns third team All-NE-10 honors in his first collegiate season. He leads all Franklin Pierce freshmen with two goals (one match-winner) and three assists for seven points in 17 matches played (all starts). Torstensson was named NE-10 Freshman of the Week on one occasion this season.

            Dawkins is also a third team All-Conference pick in his first collegiate season. He has played 16 matches, with ten starts, for a Franklin Pierce defensive unit that ranks second in the NE-10 with a 0.69 team GAA (11^th nationally) and nine shutouts (10^th) this season.

            Franklin Pierce (13-2-3, 11-0-2 NE-10) is ranked fourth in this week’s National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll and first in the New England Region. After seeing their bid for a second-straight NE-10 Tournament title cut short in the semifinal round, the Ravens are on target to earn their fifth-straight NCAA Tournament berth (13^th overall) when bids are announced on Monday.