Three Franklin Pierce Soccer 
Players Honored by NE-10
Franklin tabbed women’s Player 
and Freshman of the Week for first time
Mello collects women’s Goalkeeper of the Week honors for eighth time in career
Thorpe named men’s Goalkeeper of the Week for 11^th time in career

RINDGE, N.H. (September 18, 2006) – Three Franklin Pierce soccer players collected weekly honors from the Northeast-10 Conference this afternoon.

            Junior Jenna Mello (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) was named Goalkeeper of the Week, while freshman Shona Franklin (Leicester, England) earned both NE-10 Player and Freshman of the Week accolades for women’s soccer. Junior All-American James Thorpe (East Longmeadow, Mass./Bridgton Academy) collected Goalkeeper of the Week honors for men’s soccer.            

Mello earns Goalkeeper of the Week honors for the second time this season (eighth career) after stopping seven of her opponent’s eight shots on target in a 2-0 week against regionally-ranked opposition. She had four saves to preserve her second shutout of the season as the Ravens topped Assumption College, ranked seventh in the New England region, 2-0 on Tuesday night.  She finished with three stops to preserve Saturday’s key 2-1 victory over No. 23-ranked Saint Anselm College, including a one-on-one save on NE-10 leading scorer Jocelyn Savastano midway through the opening half. Mello posted a 0.50 goals against average and .875 save percentage for the week.

            Mello ranks fourth among Northeast-10 leaders with her two shutouts this fall. She has played all 540 of the Ravens minutes in goal over six matches and has posted a 1.17 goals against average and .731 save percentage (10^th NE-10).

            Mello’s 17 career shutouts are tied for fourth in program history with Kim Higgins (1998-2001). She has played 3,466:50 over 39 career appearances, 38 starts, over three seasons at Franklin Pierce. Mello has posted a 31-4-3 career record, a 0.75 goals against average (6^th in program history) and .777 save percentage (8^th).            

Franklin collects both Player and Freshman of the Week honors for the first time after her two goals led the Ravens to a 2-0 week against regionally-ranked opponents. She scored the opening goals in both wins, including her first collegiate marker just 4:59 into Tuesday’s 2-0 victory at Assumption, ranked seventh in the region. Franklin bettered that time with her goal 4:55 into Saturday’s 2-1 victory over No. 23 Saint Anselm.

            Franklin is now second on the team with five points on two goals and an assist in her first collegiate season. She has notched at least a point in each of the Ravens matches during their current three-match winning streak.

            Thorpe earns Goalkeeper of the Week honors for the first time this fall (11^th career) after not allowing a goal in 180-minutes of action in a 2-0 week for the No. 3-ranked Ravens. Thorpe made five saves, including a point blank stop in the second half, to preserve Franklin Pierce’s 1-0 victory at American International College, ranked fifth in the New England Region, on Saturday night. His lone save in the second half of Wednesday’s 2-0 decision over Assumption that maintained a 1-0 lead at the time.

            Thorpe, who has not allowed a goal in 290 minutes of action over three Northeast-10 matches so far this season, carries a scoreless streak of 326:12 into this week’s matches. He leads the Conference with five shutouts this season and is second in both goals against average (0.42) and save percentage (.897) among NE-10 leaders.            

Thorpe’s two clean sheets last week extended his program record of career shutouts to 30. He has made 57 appearances, 56 starts, over his career at Franklin Pierce and has posted a 0.73 career goals against average and .817 save percentage in 5,080:06 over his three-year career.

            Thorpe, the NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Year each of his first two seasons at the College, is on pace to shatter the program’s career goals against average record of 1.16 set by Jeff Burstein from 1994-97, while Thorpe’s career save percentage is just .002 shy of the program record of .819 set by Steve Quinones (1988-90).

            The Franklin Pierce women’s soccer team (4-2, 3-2 NE-10), among team’s receiving votes in last week’s national poll and ranked fourth regionally, is back in action on Wednesday for a key NE-10 match at Stonehill College, ranked fifth in the New England region, at 4 p.m.

            The Franklin Pierce men’s soccer team (6-0-1, 2-0-1 NE-10), ranked No. 3 in last week’s National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll and first in the NSCAA/adidas New England Region rankings, is back in action on Wednesday when it visits Bentley College, ranked eighth in the region, at 3:30 p.m. The Ravens are back home on Saturday when they host Bryant University, ranked seventh in the region, at 7 p.m.