Two Ravens Collect NE-10 Weekly Honors
Giardina tabbed women's soccer Player of the Week for first time Thorpe collects men's soccer Goalkeeper of the Week for 12th time
RINDGE, N.H. (October 10, 2006) - Two members of the Franklin Pierce men's and women's soccer team received weekly honors from the Northeast-10 Conference on Monday.
Junior midfielder Jenna Giardina (Pittsfield, Mass./Taconic) was named the NE-10's Player of the Week for women's soccer, while junior All-American James Thorpe (East Longmeadow, Mass./Bridgton Academy) earned the Conference's men's soccer Goalkeeper of the Week award.
Giardina collects the first weekly award from the NE-10 of her career after scoring two of Franklin Pierce's three goals in a 2-0 week. Giardina netted the lone goal in the 57th minute to lift the Ravens to a 1-0 victory at the University of New Haven, ranked fifth in last week's NSCAA/adidas Northeast Regional poll, on Saturday. She also scored the equalizing goal in Wednesday's 2-1 comeback win at Le Moyne, ranked eighth in the New England region.
Giardina is now second on the team with five goals (two match-winners) and 11 points to go with an assist. Her entire point total has come in the Ravens last six matches during their current nine-match winning streak. Giardina scored two second half markers to break open a 5-1 victory at Stonehill College (Sept. 20), assisted on the lone goal in a 1-0 victory over No. 18 Merrimack College (Sept. 26) and has scored in each of the Ravens last three matches.
In 54 career matches at Franklin Pierce, Giardina has totaled six goals and eight assists for 20 points. In 2005, she dished two assists for two points in 23 matches after totaling a goal and five assists for seven points in 21 starts as a freshman in 2004.
Thorpe earns Goalkeeper of the Week honors for the second time this season (12th career) after stopping all six shots on goal he faced over 150:31 minutes in a 2-0 week for Franklin Pierce. Thorpe made four saves (three first half) to preserve his eighth shutout of the season (33rd career) in a key 3-0 victory at Le Moyne College, ranked seventh in the New England region, last Tuesday. He posted two stops (both second half) in 60:31 of Saturday's 4-0 victory over Saint Anselm.
Thorpe leads the Northeast-10 in goals against average (0.31), save percentage (.913) and shutouts (8) while playing 1,147:09 of Franklin Pierce's time in goal so far this season. The Ravens have yielded just one goal in NE-10 play this fall (0.11 GAA) and Thorpe has not yielded a goal in his last 371:39 dating back to a first-half goal in a 2-1 victory over Bryant University on September 23.
Thorpe has already broken the school's career shutout record with 33, but also leads Franklin Pierce's career leaders in goals against average (0.68) and shutout percentage (.827). His 5,575:04 career minutes are also a school record and have moved him into 27th place all-time in NCAA Division II history.
The Franklin Pierce women's soccer team (10-2-0, 8-2-0 NE-10), ranked 12th in this week's NSCAA/adidas Division II poll, is back in action on Wednesday when it visits Bentley College at 3:30 p.m. The Ravens return home on Saturday when they host No. 21 UMass Lowell at 2 p.m.
The Franklin Pierce men's soccer team (12-0-1, 8-0-1 NE-10), ranked No. 1 in this week's NSCAA/adidas Division II poll, hosts No. 23 Merrimack College on Wednesday at 7 p.m.