Hislop Featured in SI’s 
“Faces in the Crowd”
Belfast, Northern Ireland, native included in October 31 issue of Sports Illustrated which hits newsstands Monday

RINDGE, N.H. (October 26, 2005) – Senior All-American and reigning Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year Laura Hislop (Belfast, Northern Ireland) is featured in the “Faces in the Crowd” section of the October 31 issue of Sports Illustrated that will hit newsstands on Monday and is featured on-line at www.si.com starting today.

For the on-line version of "Faces in the Crowd", click here.            

Hislop is the seventh individual from Franklin Pierce to be featured in “Faces in the Crowd” with the College having a student-athlete featured each of the last three years. Others who have been included in “Faces in the Crowd” from the College are women’s soccer All-Americans Meghan Welcome (12/15/03), Pauliina Miettinen (11/10/97) and Nathalie Geeris (12/26/94), women’s soccer head coach Jeff Bailey (December, 1999) and men’s soccer goalkeeper James Thorpe (12/13/04) along with men’s basketball Hall of Famer Bob Szklarz (1968).                       

            Hislop is featured for becoming just the second player in program history to reach the 200-point plateau in her Franklin Pierce career. She accomplished the feat with her goal just 6:33 into the Ravens 3-0 victory over Le Moyne College on October 5. Hislop went on to play a role in all five Franklin Pierce goals in a 2-0 week and collected Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Week accolades for the 16^th time in her three-year career at the College.

            Hislop currently ranks second in program history with 210 career points (9^th in NCAA Division II history) and 82 goals (11^th) to go with 46 assists which ranks fifth all-time at the College (13^th in DII history). Her 18 career match-winning goals are good for third in program history.            

Hislop, a two-time All-American, All-Region and All-Northeast-10 selection, is the reigning NE-10 Player of the Year and 2003 NSCAA/adidas Division II Player of the Year. She currently ranks second in the Conference with 20 goals (six match-winners) and eight assists for 48 points – all of which are team-high totals. Hislop led the NE-10 in all three scoring categories each of the last two seasons.

            Hislop has earned 30 caps for the Republic of Ireland women’s national team. She helped Ireland finish atop its group in European Championship qualifying with four goals in 2003-04, which resulted in the country earning promotion to European women’s football’s top flight. Hislop has started both of Ireland’s World Cup qualifiers in the past three months, including a 0-0 draw at Scotland on September 26, and was a part of Ireland’s squad for the 2005 World University Games in Turkey in August. She totaled two goals at the event.

            Franklin Pierce (14-1-1, 12-1-1 NE-10), ranked No. 5 in this week’s National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, has claimed its fifth-straight NE-10 regular season championship and top seed for the Conference tournament set to open with quarterfinal round action on Sunday, October 30. The Ravens opponent and match time will be determined Thursday or Friday.