Mississauga, Ontario, native becomes program's first Academic All-American since 1996

RINDGE, N.H. (November 28, 2005) - Franklin Pierce junior back Peter Petropanagos (Mississauga, Ontario/York University) has been selected to the 2005 ESPN The Magazine College Division Academic All-America Men's Soccer Third Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The College Division teams are comprised of NCAA Division II and III and NAIA student-athletes and are voted on by CoSIDA's Academic All-America committee.

Petropanagos, selected to the College Division third team, is the men's soccer program's third Academic All-American in program history and its first since former two-time All-American Seamus Donnelly in 1996. Donnelly, also a two-time Academic All-American (1995 & '96), is the only other Academic All-American in program history. Petropanagos is the lone Northeast-10 Conference men's soccer player on any of the three Academic All-America teams.             

Petropanagos, a pre-med major at the College with a 3.75 cumulative grade point average, has also collected first team Academic All-District and NE-10 All-Academic honors for the first time this fall. A Northeast-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll Bronze Scholar in 2004-05, Petropanagos is one of the top marking backs in the Conference, earning a spot on the All-Northeast-10 second team this fall.

Petropanagos is a key member of a Ravens defensive unit that leads the NE-10 with 13 shutouts and is tied for the Conference lead with a 0.87 team goals against average. In 24 starts, he ranks third on the team with five assists.

In 2004, he was a key part of a defense that posted a school-record and NCAA Division II-best 16 shutouts and a 0.65 team GAA (6^th nationally - tops in the NE-10), advancing to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament.

Franklin Pierce (15-5-5) has advanced to the NCAA Division II Final Four for the second time in program history after also earning a berth in 1991. The Ravens face No. 4-ranked SIU-Edwardsville in a semifinal match on Friday at 3 p.m. (EST). Franklin Pierce also claimed its first Northeast-10 regular season title this season with a 10-1-2 mark and captured its second-straight NCAA New England Regional crown. With a win on Friday, the Ravens would play for their first National Championship on Sunday at 1 p.m. (EST).