Francois, Neumen earn first-team honors; move on for All-America vote

RINDGE, N.H. (November 17, 2009) – Franklin Pierce University men’s soccer standouts Frantz Francois (West Palm Beach, Fla.), Kevin Neumen (Miller Place, N.Y.) and Victor Goncalves (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) earned 2009 Daktronics, Inc. All-East Region honors on Tuesday. Francois and Neumen were named to the All-East First-Team, while Goncalves was placed on the All-East Second-Team.

A graduate midfielder, Francois (who also earned First-Team All-East Region honors last season) led the team in goals (10) and points (22) this season. Those totals each ranked among the top-10 in the Northeast-10 in 2009. Three of his 10 goals went as game-winners during the campaign. The All-East honor was the second post-season award for Francois this season, as he was also named to the Northeast-10 First-Team last month.

In his only season with Franklin Pierce, Neumen, a graduate defender, helped anchor a defense which produced 10 shutouts and allowed an average of just 0.82 goals a match. Neumen, like Francois, was named to the Northeast-10 First-Team last month.

By being named to the Daktronics East Region First-Team, Francois and Neumen now advance to the voting stage for the national All-America team. Voting for that award will be conducted in the following weeks and will be announced at some point in early December.

Goncalves, a sophomore midfielder, earned All-East Second-Team honors after he produced six goals (one game-winner), three assists and 15 points. A 2009 Northeast-10 First-Team honoree, Goncalves ranked second on the team in goals during the campaign.

The voting for the Daktronics All-East Region team was conducted among sports information directors at NCAA Division II institutions that are members of the Central Atlantic Collegiate, East Coast and Northeast-10 Conferences.

Under the guidance of first-year head coach Craig Stewart, Franklin Pierce concluded the 2009 season with a 13-5-3 mark and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament second round. The Ravens were ranked 25th nationally at the time of their final contest this season.

For more information on Franklin Pierce men’s soccer, please visit the team’s page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.)