Brillant Signs with Revolution
Former Franklin Pierce All-American expected in uniform tonight against Los Angeles
RINDGE, N.H. (May 1, 2004) - Former Franklin Pierce All-American midfielder Felix Brillant (Montreal, Quebec/College Francais) has signed a contract with the New England Revolution and is expected to be in uniform for tonight's Major League Soccer match up with the Los Angeles Galaxy at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.
Brillant was selected by the Revolution in the sixth round (56th overall) of the 2004 Major League Soccer SuperDraft in Charlotte, N.C., over the winter. He joined former two-time All-American Bojan Vuckovic, who was also selected by New England with the team's third pick in the inaugural MLS Draft in February, 1996, as the lone Franklin Pierce products to play in MLS.
Brillant was one of two Division II players chosen in this year's draft, joining fellow Northeast-10 Conference star Olivier Occean from Southern Connecticut State University who was picked by the New York/New Jersey MetroStars in the third round (26th). Both Brillant and Occean are also products of College Francais in Montreal.
Tonight's match with MLS Western Conference leaders Los Angeles Galaxy will be shown live on FoxSports World at 7:30 p.m. Brillant signed his MLS contract on Friday and will likely start the match on the Revolution bench.
Brillant recently completed a stellar four-year career at Franklin Pierce where he joined Vuckovic as the only two players in program history to earn All-New England status four times. Brillant was also a four-time All-Northeast-10 selection and was named the Conference's Freshman of the Year in 2000 when he claimed NSCAA/adidas All-America honors.
Brillant finished his career with seven goals and 25 assists for 39 points in 68 career matches played. His 39 points rank 19th on the program's career scoring list while his 25 assists are good for ninth all-time. Brillant ranked second on the team in 2003 with five assists, two of which came on match-winning goals and another on a match-tying tally.
Brillant played two summers for the Cape Cod Crusaders in the Premier Developmental League (PDL), helping lead the team to back-to-back PDL National Championships in 2002 and 2003. He was named MVP of the 2002 National Tournament.
Brillant was the sixth Franklin Pierce student-athlete to be drafted by a major sports organization, joining Vuckovic, women's soccer All-American Minna Mustonen (New York Power, 2002) and baseball standouts Justin Blood (Seattle Mariners, 2001), Chris Shank (Oakland Athletics, 2002) and Matt Weagle (Saint Louis Cardinals, 2003).
Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 19 in the final NSCAA/adidas Division II poll, posted an 11-6-2 overall record this past fall and earned the program's ninth NCAA Tournament berth before falling in the first round to No. 7 UMass Lowell, 3-0, in New Haven, Conn. The Ravens finished with an 11-2 record in Northeast-10 Conference play, good for second place in the regular season.