Ettienne earns first team All-America honors, Francois selected to third team
Duo head list of four Daktronics All-East Region selections for Ravens

RINDGE, N.H. (December 19, 2008) - Two members of the Franklin Pierce University men's soccer team have earned spots on the Daktronics Division II All-America squads, while four earned Daktronics All-East Region honors as voted by sports information directors nationally and regionally, respectively. The teams are sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., an acknowledged world leader in scoring, timing and programmable display systems for virtually every sport at every level of competition.

Graduate student Bisharra Ettienne (Point Michel, Dominica) earned first team Daktronics All-America honors, while senior midfielder Frantz Francois (Saint-Marc, Haiti/Palm Beach Lakes (Fla.)) was selected to the All-America third team. The All-America pair also earned Daktronics All-East region honors, while sophomore back Shaliek Dawkins (St. Catherines, Jamaica) and freshman forward Victor Gonçalves (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) were both named to the All-Region second team.

Ettienne earns All-America honors for the third-straight season after becoming the first three-time Northeast-10 Defensive Player of the Year in Conference history this fall. Also a three-time first team All-Region and All-Conference selection, Ettienne led a Franklin Pierce defensive unit which ranked second in the NE-10 with nine shutouts and seventh with a 1.09 team goals against average this fall. The Ravens defense ranked second in the NE-10 with a 0.75 team GAA in conference play and fourth with six shutouts. Ettienne also contributed two goals and an assist for five points while starting 22 of the Ravens 23 matches this season.

Ettienne has been the backbone of Franklin Pierce's defensive unit for each of the past four seasons. The Ravens have consistently ranked among NE-10 defensive leaders over that time and have allowed an average of 0.80 goals per match over his career. Franklin Pierce led all of Division II by conceding just ten goals in 22 matches (0.46/match) in 2006. He is a four-time All-Region and All-Northeast-10 selection over his career. 

Francois earns his first All-America selection with his third team honor, while also collecting All-Region status for the first time as well. Francois, a first-team All-Northeast-10 honoree this fall, totaled five goals and five assists (10^th NE-10) for 15 points in 23 matches (19 starts). Three of his five goals this season have been match-winning strikes (4^th NE-10), including the deciding goal in a 2-1 overtime victory over Southern Connecticut State University in the quarterfinal round of the Northeast-10 Tournament. He registered at least a point (three goals, four assists) in six of Franklin Pierce's last nine matches.

In 62 career matches played over three seasons for Franklin Pierce, Francois has totaled seven goals and 13 assists for 27 points. He earned All-Tournament team honors at the 2007 NCAA Division II Championships after setting up the lone goal in the Ravens 1-0 victory over Lincoln Memorial University to capture the program's first National Championship. Francois is planning to return for a postgrad season in 2009.

Dawkins earns All-Region honors for the first time with his second team selection this year. A two-time third team All-Northeast-10 pick, Dawkins had a breakout season for a Franklin Pierce defensive unit which ranked second in the NE-10 with nine shutouts and seventh with a 1.09 team goals against average. The Ravens defense ranked second in the NE-10 with a 0.75 team GAA and fourth with six shutouts in Conference play. Dawkins netted his first collegiate goal (42 career matches) at American International College on October 29.

Over Dawkins two seasons at Franklin Pierce, the Ravens defense has conceded just 41 goals in 46 matches (0.89/match) with 21 shutouts - including a Northeast-10 best 12 in 2007.

Gonçalves, the NE-10 Freshman of the Year and first team All-NE-10 selection, made an immediate impact for Franklin Pierce in his freshman season. He led the NE-10 with 29 points and 12 goals to go with five assists (10^th NE-10) in 23 matches (20 starts). He is second in the Conference

with a team-best four match-winning goals and he also posted four multi-goal matches, including two goals and an assist for five points in the Ravens 4-0 win at Saint Michael's College on September 24.

Gonçalves, a member of the inaugural Northeast-10 All-Rookie squad, earned NE-10 Player of the Week honors once this season and was selected as the Conference's Freshman of the Week twice. During the NE-10 regular season, Gonçalves totaled eight goals (3^rd NE-10) and two assists for 18 points (4^th). His three match-winning goals in NE-10 regular season contests led the Conference.

Franklin Pierce (13-8-2, 9-3-1 NE-10), ranked 16^th in the final postseason National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, made its sixth-straight NCAA Division II Tournament appearance (14^th overall) this fall. The Ravens, National Champions in 2007, advanced to the second round before being defeated at Dowling College - the eventual National Runners-up.