Ettienne named NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year for third-straight season
Gonçalves selected as Freshman of the Year

RINDGE, N.H. (November 3, 2008) - Seven members of the Franklin Pierce University men's soccer team have earned postseason honors from the Northeast-10 Conference. The All-Northeast-10 first, second and third teams, major awards and All-Rookie team are selected by a vote of the NE-10's 14 head men's soccer coaches.

Senior All-America back Bisharra Ettienne (Point Michel, Dominica) has been selected as the Northeast-10 Defensive Player of the Year for the third-straight season, while forward Viktor Gonçalves (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) has been named Freshman of the Year to highlight Franklin Pierce's six All-Conference selections. Ettienne is the first three-time recipient of the NE-10's top defensive player award since the award was initiated in 1995, while Gonçalves is the third Freshman of the Year for the Ravens since joining the NE-10 prior to the 2000 season.

Senior midfielder Frantz Francois (Saint-Marc, Haiti/Palm Beach Lakes (Fla.)) joins Ettienne and Gonçalves on the All-Northeast-10 first team, while junior midfielder Kensaku Tsuji (Tokushima, Japan) and sophomore back Shaliek Dawkins (St. Catherine, Jamaica) earned second team honors and sophomore midfielder Johan Torstensson (Falköping, Sweden) was named to the third team. Freshman goalkeeper Vinny Papageorgiou (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington) joins Gonçalves on the inaugural NE-10 All-Rookie Team. 

Ettienne, a two-time first team All-America selection, leads a Franklin Pierce defensive unit which ranks second in the NE-10 with seven shutouts and sixth with a 1.13 team goals against average. The Ravens defense ranked second in the NE-10 with a 0.75 team GAA in conference play and fourth with six shutouts. Ettienne has also contributed two goals and an assist for five points while starting 19 of the Ravens 20 matches played 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. His All-Conference selection is the fourth of Ettienne's career.

Gonçalves has made an immediate impact for Franklin Pierce in his freshman season. He leads the NE-10 with 29 points and 12 goals to go with five assists (7^th NE-10) in 20 matches (17 starts) this season. He is second in the Conference with a team-best four match-winning goals and he has also posted four multi-goal matches this season, including two goals and an assist for five points in the Ravens 4-0 win at Saint Michael's College on September 24.

Gonçalves has earned NE-10 Player of the Week honors once this season and has been 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 lead the Conference. 

Francois earns All-NE-10 recognition for the first time after totaling five goals and four assists for 14 points in 20 matches (16 starts) this season. Three of his five goals this season have been match-winning strikes (4^th NE-10), including the deciding goal in last night's 2-1 overtime victory over Southern Connecticut State University in the quarterfinal round of the Northeast-10 Tournament. The goal also marked his third in the last four matches.

In 59 career matches played for Franklin Pierce, Francois has totaled seven goals and 12 assists for 26 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.

Tsuji earns All-Conference honors for the first time with his selection to the second team. One of just two players for Franklin Pierce to start all 20 matches, he has totaled a team-best six assists (3^rd NE-10) to go with three goals for 12 points. Three of his assists have come on match-winning goals, while he added a game-winning strike of his own during a two goal and two assists outburst in the Ravens 6-0 non-conference win over Mercy College on October 4.

Tsuji ranks fifth among NE-10 leaders with four assists in NE-10 regular season matches this season to go with a goal for six points. Tsuji saw limited duty for Franklin Pierce in 2007, netting a goal in five appearances (two starts) during the Ravens National Championship season.

Dawkins earns All-Northeast-10 honors for the second-straight year with his second-team selection after earning third team honors as a freshman. He has had a breakout season for a Franklin Pierce defensive unit which ranks second in the NE-10 with seven shutouts and sixth with a 1.13 team goals against average. The Ravens defense ranked second in the NE-10 with a 0.75 team GAA in conference play and fourth with six shutouts. Dawkins netted his first collegiate goal (39 career matches) at American International College last week. 

Over his two seasons at Franklin Pierce, the Ravens defense has conceded just 38 goals in 43 matches (0.88/match) with 19 shutouts - including a Conference best 12 in 2007.

Torstensson earns third team All-Northeast-10 honors for the second-straight season. As the team's holding midfielder, he has been a key part of a defensive unit which ranks second in the NE-10 with seven shutouts and sixth with a 1.13 team goals against average. The Ravens defense ranked second in the NE-10 with a 0.75 team GAA in conference play and fourth with six shutouts. Torstensson, who writes a weekly blog for NCAA.com, has also dished one assist this season. He earned the Jeff Burstein Man-of-the-Match award for his efforts in the Ravens regular season match at UMass Lowell on October 8.

Torstensson, a Northeast-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll Gold Scholar who earned a 3.88 cumulative grade point average in his freshman year at Franklin Pierce, has started 37 of the 41 matches in which he has appeared over his two seasons. He has totaled two goals and four assists for eight points in that time, including a match-winning goal his freshman season.

Papageorgiou has started each of Franklin Pierce's last 15 matches in goal this season. He has posted a 0.86 goals against average (2^nd NE-10) and .711 save percentage with six shutouts (4^th) in 1,364:56. The Ravens are 10-4-1 since he took over in the goal and he posted a 0.74 GAA (2^nd) and .757 save percentage (8^th) with six shutouts (2^nd) during the NE-10 regular season. Papageorgiou earned NE-10 Freshman of the Week honors four times and Goalkeeper of the Week accolades once.

Franklin Pierce (12-7-1, 9-3-1 NE-10) is back in action on Wednesday when it faces second-seeded and No. 5-ranked Southern New Hampshire University (14-2-3, 9-1-3 NE-10) for semifinal round action of the 2008 Northeast-10 Conference men's soccer championships in Manchester at 5 p.m.